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Santa Barbara Co. reports 35 new cases of COVID-19; could move to lower tier next week

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Posted at 5:06 PM, Sep 25, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-25 20:06:07-04

Santa Barbara County reported 35 news cases of COVID-19 on Friday bringing the total numbers of cases in the county to 9,037.

Of those, 155 are said to be still infectious and 8,769 have recovered. There have been 113 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County.

Public Health officials say the county is on track to move to a less restrictive COVID-19 tier on Tuesday as long as metrics continue being met.

Once in the red tier, K-12 schools would be allowed to reopen two weeks later. The soonest as of right now being Oct. 13.

In the red tier, things like indoor dining could resume, places of worship could reopen, movie theatres and personal care services can re-open indoor operations, retail operations can expand and gyms can also re-open, all with modifications.

To-date, 30 elementary waiver applications have been submitted in the county.

Dr. Henning Ansorg says 21 have been approved, two have been sent to the California Department of Public Health for final approval and the health department is working with four other schools on their applications.

So far, no waivers have been denied.

Once in the red tier, schools would no longer need to submit waivers to apply for re-opening.

While county officials are hopeful and optimistic that the county will move into a lower tier next week, they urge residents to not become complacent.

A special Board of Supervisors meeting is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday where public health officials will provide a COVID-19 update.

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