Santa Barbara County Sheriff reports new coronavirus outbreak at Main Jail

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Another new coronavirus outbreak has been reported at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail.

According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, an inmate who was housed in an area with 51 other inmates has recently tested positive for COVID-19.

The inmate has since been isolated and moved to another housing area and those who were exposed are currently being tracked and tested.

Since the inmate's initial positive test, four others from the same housing area have tested positive for COVID-19.

The inmate, the sheriff's office said, had recently been transported to an in-person court appearance where he was in close contact with other inmates prior to testing positive for the coronavirus. During the court appearance he was in contact with inmates from other parts of the jail.

Inmates are tested for COVID-19 when they are brought into the jail and separated from the rest of the inmate population for several days. The jail also offers COVID-19 vaccines to those who want it, although the number of fully vaccinated inmates was less than 50% back in September.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said it is continuing to work with Santa Barbara County Public Health officials and WellPath, the health care company contracted at the jail, to mitigate this outbreak.

The sheriff's office said it is also working with the Santa Barbara Court and the Public Defender’s Office to adjust court appearances to minimize the spread of the coronavirus amongst the inmate population.

Currently, there are no reports of any jail employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 during this latest outbreak. Any employees at the jail who have direct contact with inmates is required to be regularly tested and wear an N95 mask.

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.