First case of coronavirus confirmed in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department confirmed the first positive case of the coronavirus in a north Santa Barbara County resident. This is the only confirmed case of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County at this time.

The person identified is in their 60s and does not have any underlying health conditions.

Public Health said this person is recovering in isolation at home until they are cleared by the Public Health Officer.

PHD is taking steps to identify anyone who may have had close contact with this patient including friends, family members or health care professionals.

PHD said they will monitor them and take appropriate measures, including testing for infection, if needed.

"The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has been actively preparing to ensure that we have a structure in place to effectively reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our county," said Dr. Henning Ansorg, Health Officer for Santa Barbara County. "At this time we are mandating social distancing measures to slow the spread of the virus. All large nonessential professional, social, and community gatherings should be postponed or cancelled, and smaller gatherings should be modified to allow for at least six feet of space between participants."

The Public Health Department said since human coronaviruses most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, community members are reminded to take measures to prevent the spread of respiratory illness.

For more information about COVID-19 and SB County Public Health's response, please visit www.publichealthsbc.org or call the COVID-19 Call Center at (833) 688-5551 on Sunday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.