COVID-19 Information

Reporting COVID-19

Use this reporting process when a member of the UC Santa Barbara campus community has:

  • Received a COVID-19 positive test result from outside of campus testing, OR
  • Received a COVID-19 positive rapid antigen home test result

Reporting your outside COVID-19 positive test results will result in a 90-day block from any campus COVID-19 testing requirements, and a 90-day delay in your deadline for a COVID-19 booster vaccine dose. 

Follow these important steps:

  • Students, faculty and staff should SELF REPORT their positive test results from outside of campus testing through the MyHealth Portal:
    • After logging in, select "Messages," then "New Message" and click the button "Self-Reported COVID-19 Lab Result." 
    • Please upload a copy of the test if you have it available, with your name and date of test collection written on the home testing cards. 

UC Santa Barbara students may find further information about campus testing on the Student Health website.

  • The campus COVID-19 Response Team will coordinate with Environmental Health & Safety to provide required legal notices to identify coworkers who were in close contact with the COVID-19 case. Any notice to employees must safeguard the confidentiality of the positive case. The Response Team will notify campus leadership and risk management, and track cases for posting on the campus webpages, if appropriate.
  • You may seek guidance from Environmental Health & Safety to determine what cleaning procedures are necessary. Contact Environmental Health & Safety at (805) 893-2860 or ehs-covid19wssp@ucsb.edu.
  • Employees with COVID-19 will be instructed to inform their supervisors when they can return to work after their isolation or quarantine periods have been completed. Public Health requirements for ending COVID-19 Isolation are listed on the UC Santa Barbara Health & Wellbeing webpage.

The UC Santa Barbara Reporting Process

  • We will exert all efforts to protect the confidentiality of any confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases and their exposed contacts. No one should be stigmatized or subject to discrimination based on their health status.
  • We use identifying information only to establish workplace and housing details in order to collaborate with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department to enable them or campus authorities to conduct contact tracing and confidential notification of contacts.
  • We use a medical team for case review consisting of licensed medical professionals (physicians and registered nurses) from UC Santa Barbara Student Health and the campus COVID-19 clinical advisors, working in close collaboration with the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health.
  • If a UC Santa Barbara student, staff, or faculty member is confirmed to have COVID-19, medical professionals at UC Santa Barbara will assist the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health (SBCPHD) investigation to determine who is considered a “close contact” to that person. SBCPHD officials or the campus COVID-19 Response Team will contact those individuals and advise that they follow the appropriate isolation or quarantine guidelines based on their COVID-19 vaccination and booster status, and when to obtain COVID-19 testing if needed. 
  • The COVID-19 Response Team will coordinate notifications to other campus departments as appropriate, such as Environmental Health & Safety for sanitation issues, Risk Management for workers compensation issues and Housing and Residential Life, if those areas are involved. 
  • The campus's quarantine and isolation guidelines are based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health

COVID-19 Santa Barbara Testing Resource List

For information about local COVID-19 testing sites, please visit our COVID-19 Testing Resources page.

You can also email ucsb-covid19@ucsb.edu to request further information.