A Santa Barbara County sheriff's civilian employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday after developing symptoms two days earlier, according to a sheriff's spokesman.
The staff member consistently wore a mask and worked near an inmate cleaning crew whose members wore full personal protective equipment, according to spokeswoman Raquel Zick.
The employee did not return to work after their Wednesday shift at which point they took a coronavirus test at a community testing site.
The total number of Sheriff's Office employees who have tested positive for coronavirus is 38, with 32 having recovered and returned to work, Zick said. Staff members who continue to recover at home include one custody deputy, three civilian staff and two sheriff's deputies.
The following is taken from the Santa Maria Police Department's calls-for-service log and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office daily arrest log. Those appearing as "arrested" are only suspected of the crime indicated but are presumed innocent.
The following is taken from the Lompoc Police Department's calls-for-service log and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office daily arrest log. Those appearing as "arrested" are only suspected of the crime indicated but are presumed innocent.
Coronavirus Series: Local impact and reaction to COVID-19 on the Central Coast
We are working hard to get answers about the impact and reaction to the coronavirus in Santa Barbara County, this is a collection of those stories. Do you have a question about coronavirus in Santa Barbara County? Post them to our Facebook page, or email MCooley@SantaMariaTimes.com. You can support the work of local journalists working hard in your hometown by signing up for a News+ Membership online.
Due to Santa Barbara County's status in the state's purple tier, all nonessential gatherings and activities will be restricted from 10 p.m. to…
Santa Maria will receive more than $960,000 in a second round of COVID-19 federal CARES Act funding that will allow for increased rental assis…
Clerical and management workers make up the sector most responsible for driving Santa Barbara County’s surge in COVID-19 cases during the firs…
Santa Barbara County will send a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to modify the new purple tier requirements in his Blueprint for a Safe…
Santa Barbara County's COVID-19 case rate hit 7.1 per 100,000 people as of Monday, rising into purple-tier territory and moving the county back into the state's most restrictive phase. Neighboring San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties also moved backward to purple.
After temporarily closing due to a confirmed student COVID-19 case in early November, the number of COVID-positive students at St. Joseph High School in Orcutt has grown to 11, with school leaders planning to resume on-campus learning for all students Tuesday.
San Luis Obispo County is likely to regress to the state's most-restrictive purple tier due to a surge of COVID-19 cases since the beginning o…
A new online dashboard giving the public more data on COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County was unveiled Tuesday when the Board of Supervisors took…
Due to a positive COVID-19 case among its student body, St. Joseph High School in Orcutt will resume distance learning for all students until …
Financial reports for the first quarter of the 2020-21 fiscal year in Santa Maria indicate mostly conservative spending across city departments and slowly-increasing sales tax revenue, with budget amendments requested to cover unexpected public safety costs.
Santa Barbara County’s unemployment rate has fallen to about half of its April spike brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s still runni…
Following a severe coronavirus outbreak, skilled nursing facility Santa Maria Post Acute was declared COVID-free on Monday by the Santa Barbar…
Although K-12 schools in Santa Barbara County were officially permitted to reopen Oct. 13, Orcutt and several other public school districts decided against bringing back students just yet due to local COVID-19 case rates that outpace the rest of the county.
As agricultural workers continue to have the highest COVID-19 case numbers in Santa Barbara County, workers who have tested positive and need …
An ordinance that would allow certain Santa Barbara County personnel to issue citations leading to fines for violating county health officer o…
Hancock College will continue offering the majority of classes in a distance learning format in the upcoming spring semester, college official…
Two months after the official start of the school year in August, freshmen at St. Joseph High School in Orcutt saw their campus for the first …
For Righetti senior Kidasi Nepa, the news that the Santa Maria Joint-Union High School District would not be returning to in-person learning u…
Officials with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department confirmed on Friday that "several" residents have died in a COVID-19 outbreak…
While reopening plans were approved for the Orcutt branch, the Santa Maria main library and its branches in Guadalupe, Los Alamos and Cuyama will remain closed except for curbside pickup service for the time being.
A Tuesday health order from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department permits the reopening of K-12 schools in the county and continue…
By midmorning Tuesday, a steady line of vehicles could be seen winding through the parking lot at Hancock College's Santa Maria campus during …
Twenty parents in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District were given AT&T tablets on Friday in an effort to enhance their digital literacy …
In order for Santa Barbara County to move into the state's next reopening tier, COVID-19 rates will need to brought down in the 21 most disproportionately impacted neighborhoods in the county, officials from the county Public Health Department said Friday.
In preparation for the fall holidays, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department released new guidance on Friday regarding best practices for celebrating Halloween during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santa Maria business owners in several sectors will be able to expand and resume services following Santa Barbara County's move Tuesday into t…
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department this week reached the milestone of 150,000 COVID-19 tests conducted since the start of the p…
Santa Maria movie lovers may once again be able to see new releases on the big screen as soon as next week, with Regal Edwards theaters in San…
For COVID-19 survivor Melissa Meza, there are certain aspects of her battle against the virus, which included 10 weeks of hospitalization, lif…
Santa Barbara County has passed 9,000 total confirmed COVID-19 cases after 30 new cases were reported Thursday by the County Public Health Dep…
The reopening date for the Santa Maria Public Library may be delayed longer than staff originally expected as the city waits for equipment nee…
Santa Barbara County finally hit the state’s metrics to move from the purple tier into the less-restrictive red tier under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, officials said Tuesday, but the numbers must hold for another week before the change would become official.
Although the percentage of positive test results — the other metric being monitored by the state — has dropped into the orange, or “moderate,” tier, the new case rate still exceeds the threshold set by the state for moving the county into the red, according to a report delivered Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.
After changing messaging surrounding COVID-19 testing in Santa Barbara County, the Public Health Department is opening testing to all resident…
A lack of access to COVID-19 personal protective equipment and an adequate labor force are among the greatest needs of Central Coast farmers a…
Private schools in the Santa Maria Valley are starting to get the green light for modified in-person learning, with Pacific Christian School p…
More than 100 Santa Barbara County residents now have died in connection to COVID-19 after the County Public Health Department confirmed four …
Santa Barbara County confirmed 138 additional COVID-19 cases over the Sept. 5-7 weekend, followed by three additional cases on Tuesday, with public health officials urging residents to remain vigilant in order to move the county into the next reopening phase.
St. Joseph High School in Orcutt has opened up the option of targeted cohorts to its families, allowing a limited number of students in need o…
Failed businesses, job losses and temporary layoffs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have hit families hard in Santa Barbara County, and the fi…
A total of 14 Santa Barbara County schools and school districts have submitted applications for waivers to reopen classrooms for in-person instruction, and 10 of those are expected to go to the state for approval Wednesday, the county health officer said Tuesday.
Attitudes toward the state’s new COVID-19 metrics, county risk classification and blueprint to reopening the economy were divided on the Santa…
After closing to the public in March, the Santa Maria Public Library may finally be able to reopen for limited grab-and-go services, under a n…
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