Another outbreak at nursing home
Sierra View reports it now has three deaths
There was somewhat of a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Tulare County on Monday as it was reported there was another outbreak at a nursing home.
Tulare County Health and Human Services reported as of Monday afternoon there were 532 positive cases of COVID-19 in the county.
That’s an increase of 28 over Sunday when 504 cases were reported. That’s the largest increase in more than a week as an increase of anywhere from 10 to 20 cases a day has been reported during that time.
There were no new deaths reported on Monday. There have been 32 people who have died due to COVID-19 in Tulare County.
On Friday, Sierra View Medical Center reported another death at the hospital bringing the total of deaths at Sierra View due to COVID-19 to three.
The county reported there were 10 positive cases of COVID-19 at Linwood Springs, a nursing home in Visalia. There have also been COVID-19 outbreaks at Visalia’s Redwood Springs and Lindsay Gardens.
The county reported there were 81 cases in the Lindsay-exeter area, 26 cases in Porterville and two in Springville. There are 274 cases in Visalia, 63 cases in Tulare, 54 cases in the Dinuba-kingsburg-woodlake area and four cases in Pixley.
Thirty of the cases are ages 0-17, 56 are ages 18-25, 120 are ages 26-40, 153 are ages 41-64 and 173 are ages 65 and older.
Five percent of the cases have been reported as travelers, 66 percent have been due to person-to-person contact and 29 percent are still under investigation.
The department reported 94 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Tulare County have recovered. There are 597 people in Tulare County who are under self-quarantine and being
being mointored by public health officials.
Tulare County and the state aren’t completely out of the woods yet when it comes to flattening the curve. The doubling time in Tulare County — the number of days it takes for cases to double — continues to decline which means the curve hasn’t completely flattened. As of Sunday when Tulare County had 504 cases the doubling time in the county was 33.7 days, down from its high point of more than 60 days last week. With 28 more cases on Monday, that doubling time is likely to continue to decline.
The situation is more dire in Kern County where as of Sunday the number of cases had surged to 809 and the doubling time was down to 16.6 days. As of Sunday, Fresno County had 458 cases and a doubling time of 22.4 days.
California has also had what could be described as a second mini-wave in recent days. California, which had a doubling time of more than 26 days, has seen its doubling time come down to 16.7 days as of Sunday.
As of Sunday, California had 43,658 cases and 1,716 deaths. California has also surpassed 1 case per 1,000 as it had 1.1 cases per 1,000 as of Sunday.
Tulare County has also surpassed 1 case per 1,000 with almost 1.1 cases per 1,000 as well. The fastest doubling time as of Sunday was in Kings County at three days. But the number of cases in Kings County remained low at 67 with one death.
As of Friday, Sierra View reported it had 21 positive cases of COVID-19. The hospital reported it has had 198 tests conducted with 173 coming back negative. Sierra View also reported it now has seven coronavirus inpatient cases.
Sierra View reported there has been 2,089 cases conducted in Tulare County.
Sierra View has also set up an emergency relief fund in which donations can be made to help with the hospital’s effort to combat COVID-19. Donations are being used to purchase hospital supplies, protective gear for clinical staff, and respiratory equipment and to support direct patient care including additional services and community prevention and outreach.
To donate visit https:// www.sierra-view.com/ covid-19-resources/ To learn about other ways to donate visit the Sierra View Foundation page at https://www.sierra-view. com/foundation/ Another Nursing Home Outbreak
The third outbreak of COVID-19 at a nursing home was reported at Linwood Meadows. Lindsay Gardens has nearly 60 positive cases of COVID-19 with 38 residents, 14 staff and six others testing positive for the coronavirus.
Redwood Springs and Linwood Meadows are both owned by the Plum Corporation. Redwood Springs has more than 180 cases of COVID-19.
There have been 114 residents, 60 staff members and eight others such as family members who came to visit or family of staff who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Tulare County public health officials are working alongside Linwood Meadows and the state to ensure the facility is following proper PPE and care guidelines and has appropriate PPE and collection kits to expand testing for employees and other residents who are identified for testing needs.
“As public health professionals, we are concerned about these outbreaks, and we are working with the California Department of Public Health Licensing and Certification Program to implement all necessary safeguards at the facility,” stated Tulare County Public Health Director Karen Elliott.
Local hospital staff and a CAL-MAT team are at Redwood Springs to assist, and HHSA clinical liaisons remain in contact with the facility to provide guidance.
Lindsay Gardens also has the assistance of a CAL-MAT team and other outside staff.