People experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms in Santa Barbara County can see a physician free of charge.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department said during a presentation at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' meeting Tuesday morning that after learning about challenges other counties were facing, they decided that instead of having people stay home and not get help due to lack of insurance, they would waive the $45 patient copay, thus allowing people to get proper treatment if it's suspected they have COVID-19.
To qualify, those who are uninsured must be displaying symptoms of COVID-19 and can be seen at any of the five public health locations in Santa Barbara County.
Health officials say even if people who are tested are determined to not have the virus, they will not have to pay.
As of Tuesday morning, 88 people in the county had tested positive for COVID-19.
For more information, call:
- Lompoc (805) 737-7775
- Santa Barbara (805) 681-4200
- Santa Maria (805) 934-6295
- Solvang (805) 686-5011
Health officials urge people to continue washing their hands thoroughly and practice social distancing.