UC Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department have identified a cluster of four new COVID-19 cases in staff members working in the De La Guerra Dining Commons, according to an emergency alert sent out by the university on Tuesday morning.
“The impacted individuals will be self-isolating. DLG has been closed and all staff members have been advised to quarantine for 10 days,” the emergency alert read, adding that “the facility was not involved in food preparation for students.”
On Wednesday, UCSB spokesperson Andrea Estrada said in an email to the Nexus that a fifth staff member tested positive for the virus.
“At this time, there is no evidence that the cases noted in the emergency alert are connected to the workplace or to each other, although some may be the result of travel and gatherings over the Thanksgiving holiday,” Estrada said.
With contract tracing efforts underway, the university said it is now looking to identify individuals who may have come into contact with any of the positive staff members, according to the emergency alert.
Update [12/9/2020, 11:40 a.m.]: This article has been updated with information surrounding a fifth confirmed COVID-19 case among De La Guerra Dining Commons staff.
