SB County monitoring 14 people for coronavirus, none showing symptoms
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department says 14 people are being monitored for the coronavirus throughout the county, however, none of them are showing any symptoms.
Public Health spokeswoman Jackie Ruiz said Wednesday the department was monitoring 14 people who had recently traveled to mainland China.
None of them were showing any symptoms of the virus as of Wednesday afternoon, but they were all under self-quarantine at their homes.
The county was not able to comment on where any of the 14 people live.
The health department says the travelers are monitored for symptoms for 14 days before they are cleared.
The county previously said it was monitoring 43 people who had traveled to China. As of last Friday, all but three had been cleared. The county said it's possible those three are still being monitored, but so far no one has tested positive for the coronavirus in Santa Barbara County.
"There are zero confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Santa Barbara County at this time," said Ruiz.
The department said it is working closely with health care providers in the county to track the potential for any local cases.
"It would not be possible for there to be a confirmed case of the coronavirus without the Public Health Department being notified," said Ruiz. "Health care providers are in such close communication with the health department that we would absolutely know if there was a tested and confirmed case of the coronavirus in our county."
The county says at least six people have been tested for the coronavirus so far, but that number could be larger.
The health department says labs and other health providers are only required to report that a test was conducted if the result comes back positive.
Ventura County does provide information on the number of tests conducted. The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department says Ventura County is able to provide that data because it has its own designated coronavirus testing lab.
