Santa Barbara County Joins Central Coast In Asking to Secede From Southern California COVID Region

Santa Barbara County is joining forces with Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties in asking the state to separate the three counties from the larger Southern California region and instead assess them as a smaller Central California region.

Currently, Santa Barbara County’s ability to reopen from its shutdown is measured by the Southern California Region’s intensive-care-unit capacity. The large region, which includes more than 23.1 million people and 11 counties, goes under a shutdown every time the intensive-care-unit capacity falls below 15 percent. If the three counties separated from the larger Southern California region, the smaller Central Coast Region would include approximately 1.5 million people.