The Santa Barbara County Jail is battling an outbreak of COVID-19 among staff and inmates, but county officials say jail officials are doing a good job at managing it considering the challenges that congregate spaces present.
Over the course of the pandemic, 75 Sheriff’s Office employees have tested positive for the virus, with 55 having recovered and returned to work as of Dec. 28. Since Dec. 14, 17 custody deputies, four sheriff’s deputies, and four non-sworn staff members have tested positive, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Among inmates, 95 total have been infected since March, with six active cases as of Dec. 28. The current cases are being isolated in negative air pressure rooms away from the general population, Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick told the Sun.
As part of the ongoing effort to keep the jail population low and reduce chances of an outbreak, Zick said the jail continues to cite and release whenever possible, and if not, inmates are isolated away from the general population.
For example, the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Dec. 17 statement that three COVID-19 positive inmates had recently been booked at the Main Jail. One inmate known to be positive prior to intake was released, while the other two tested positive during the intake screening process and were housed in negative air pressure areas.
County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg told the Sun that the jail “has done remarkably well for any institution of that size.”
“They did scale way down during COVID,” Ansorg said. “They only keep people that are necessary. … For a jail to have enough space to separate certain [COVID-positive] people is really helpful.”
But, Ansorg continued, “all you need is one case that goes undetected” for an outbreak to occur.
Zick said the jail is now giving a rapid test to everyone who goes through the intake process, which aids in detecting those asymptomatic cases that might otherwise cause an outbreak if housed with the general population. Right now, she said, the jail’s negative air pressure housing has enough space for all six of the positive inmate cases reported as of Dec. 28.
For an inmate to move from the separate housing area to the general population, the jail follows Centers for Disease Control quarantine protocols, which factor in a combination of symptoms, testing, and time, Zick said.
The Lompoc federal prison reported six cases among inmates at the U.S. Penitentiary facility as of Dec. 29, down from 25 on Dec. 15. Ansorg said that the county Public Health Department does not get involved with inmate cases at the federal prison—it can only intercede in cases among staff who live in the community.
“The federal Bureau of Prisons does not want any involvement from Public Health, which is tricky,” Ansorg said. “The real estate they are on is actually federal land, so it’s always a gray zone with the jurisdiction.”
The Bureau of Prisons Public Affairs Department did not respond to the Sun’s recent requests for comment on its testing and quarantine protocols.
