Additional Santa Maria Juvenile Hall staff member tests positive for COVID-19

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Chief Probation Officer Tanja Heitman reported Friday that a staff member assigned to the Santa Barbara Probation Department’s Santa Maria Juvenile Hall (SMJH) recently tested positive for COVID-19.

The staff reportedly last worked on Dec. 15, 2020. While they were away from work, they were exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus and were subsequently tested themselves by their personal physician. That test also came back positive.

The Santa Barbara County Probation Department said that, since the staff has not been to work for more than 14 days, there is no need to conduct contact tracing within the facility or additional testing.

As a reminder, 14 days is the suggested period during which a person who has the coronavirus is considered infectious and capable of spreading it to others.

This incident has been communicated to the County Public Health Department.

For more information about the Probation Department's response to COVID-19, visit www.sbprobation.org.

For a breakdown of COVID-19 cases throughout Santa Barbara County, click here.