Santa Barbara Main Jail reports more coronavirus cases

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office says more cases of COVID-19 have been identified at the Santa Barbara Main Jail.

These latest cases come as the jail tries to manage another outbreak within the inmate population.

On Friday, Raquel Zick, the sheriff's public information officer, announced that four more inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as part of the latest outbreak within the jail walls.

These four new cases bring the total number of inmates to test positive for COVID-19 to 24.

None of the inmates have required hospitalization and they will continued to be monitored by custody staff and WellPath, the health care company contracted at the jail.

No employees at the jail have tested positive for COVID-19 during this recent outbreak. Any employees at the jail who have direct contact with inmates is required to be regularly tested and wear an N95 mask, the sheriff's office said.

This outbreak was first reported on Dec. 9, just a few weeks after the sheriff's office announced another outbreak had been cleared.

The jail has experienced several outbreaks of COVID-19 among inmates and staff since the beginning of the pandemic.