Inflatable costume may have caused 43 hospital staff to have COVID – Official

An inflatable Christmas costume may be to blame after dozens of staff at a California hospital tested positive for COVID over the past week.

A Kaiser Permanente San Jose emergency department official confirmed that 43 staff members contracted the disease between December 27 and January 1, after an employee walked in “briefly” in “air suit” on the 25th. December.

“Any exposure if it had occurred would have been completely innocent and completely accidental, as the individual had no symptoms of COVID and was only seeking to boost the morale of those around him during a very stressful time,” Irene Chavez, senior vice president and center area manager said, Chronicle of San Francisco reported.

“On the contrary, it should serve as a very real reminder that the virus is widespread, and often without symptoms, and we all need to be vigilant,” Chavez continued. Officials said all of its health workers will now be offered weekly tests for COVID-19.

Additionally, explosive suits will “obviously” no longer be allowed in the hospital’s emergency department, which undergoes a thorough cleaning and remains open, Chavez said. The exact type of inflatable costume worn was not immediately clear.

According to a hospital statement obtained by ABC7, the center used contact tracing to educate and test any staff and patients potentially exposed to the disease. He said employees suspected of having COVID would not come to work until they were cleared.

Face blankets are needed in all areas of the hospital and officials have said common areas, such as rest rooms, will now have tighter limits on the number of staff.

Officials said nearly 40,000 health workers from Kaiser Permanente in the state had already been vaccinated against COVID, but did not say if that included anyone suspected of having been infected between December 1 and December 1. January.

The staff of the department were the first to be vaccinated. The hospital said they “shouldn’t have achieved immunity when this exposure occurred,” ABC7 reported.

The hospital said: “Even as the vaccine begins to be provided in our communities, given the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community, we are all still vulnerable and it remains essential that everyone continues to use the methods to protect us, especially masks, hand washing, avoidance of gatherings and social distancing. “

The California Department of Public Health said on Saturday there had been 53,341 new cases registered in the state as of Jan. 1, bringing the total to 2,345,909 positive cases. There have now been 26,357 deaths in the state at the time of writing, according to the figures.