Latest COVID Outbreak at Santa Barbara County Jails Grows to 36 Cases
Twenty-Two Cases Reported at the Main Jail, 14 at the Northern Branch Jail Since May 25
The latest COVID outbreak at the Santa Barbara County Jails has reached 36 cases, with 22 individuals reported to have tested positive at the Main Jail and 14 from the Northern Branch Jail. One of the individuals required hospitalization, and 23 are asymptomatic, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick.
The recent outbreak at Main Jail was discovered on Wednesday, May 25, in the jail’s West Housing Module. Of the 22 cases, 12 inmates have recovered, and 10 remain active cases. A previous outbreak at the Main Jail began last December and lasted until March, when the Sheriff’s Office announced that the 278 COVID cases at the county jail were cleared.
In the Northern Branch Jail outbreak, which was identified on May 28 in the facility’s Housing Unit E, one individual was released from the jail, six inmates have recovered, and 7 cases remain active at the facility.
Zick also announced that due to the outbreak and after consulting with County Public Health, visitation is currently suspended at both jails, and court procedures will also be readjusted in order to minimize the spread of the virus.
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