22 new cases of COVID-19 reported at Santa Barbara County Main Jail

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Main jail is dealing with more COVID-19 cases.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said it's been doing follow-up testing for an outbreak that began on Thursday, Dec. 9.

Since Tuesday, officials have identified an additional 22 coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 81 with 76 active cases and five who have recovered.

All inmates who test positive are monitored by staff and the jail's health care partner, WellPath.

So far, none of those inmates have been hospitalized and 72 are asymptomatic. The sheriff's office has not announced any positive cases among employees at the jail.

The jail has experienced several outbreaks of COVID-19 among inmates and staff since the beginning of the pandemic. The most recent outbreak was fully cleared back on Nov. 23.