December 14, 2020

To:    Campus Community

Fr:     David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor
        Joseph Incandela, Vice Chancellor for Research
        Garry Mac Pherson, Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs

Re:  REGIONAL STAY-AT-HOME ORDER
       Guidance about Leaving the Santa Barbara Area for Holiday Travel

Following the most recent Stay-At-Home Order issued by the California Department of Public Health, UC Santa Barbara campus medical experts and Santa Barbara County Public Health officials would like to reiterate the strong recommendation that community members avoid traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Avoiding travel minimizes the risk to you of getting COVID-19, and it also reduces the risk of bringing the virus back to your family and our community from other areas. 

If circumstances require you to travel away from home, medical experts recommend following all CDC guidelines (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html), including arranging for a COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours before departure.

On return, faculty, staff, and researchers should: 

  • Quarantine for 7 days if you have traveled within California, 14 days if you have traveled out of state, as required by the state of California, and do not come to campus other than for testing purposes
  • Arrange for testing within the last 3 days of your quarantine period after your return to the Santa Barbara area: on days 5-7 if you have been traveling inside California, or on days 12-14 if you have been out of state
  • If symptoms develop, remain at home and contact the UCSB COVID-19 response team weekdays at 805-893-3113, or at ucsb-covid19@ucsb.edu for the UCSB COVID-19 Call Center; or contact your regular healthcare provider.