Christmas cheer might have led to virus cases
Kaiser staffer’s inflatable suit could be linked to outbreak
SAN JOSE >> An employee’s attempt to bring Christmas cheer to employees of Kaiser Permanente’s San Jose emergency department by wearing an inflatable costume may have spread the coronavirus to dozens of employees, officials said.
Some 44 employees at the Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center’s emergency department tested positive for the virus between Dec. 27 and Jan. 1 after the informal Dec. 25 gathering, according to a statement from Kaiser Permanente of Northern California.
Kaiser Senior Vice President Irene Chavez said that hospital officials were investigating whether an employee’s holiday-themed costume — inflatable, and using air-circulation machinery — is linked to the outbreak.
The employee, who has not been identified, wore a Christmas tree suit as pictured in a photo shared by NBC Bay
Area reporter Marianne Favro. Chavez said the gathering was not a Kaiser Permanente-sponsored or approved event.
“Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent, and quite accidental,” Chavez said in a statement. “The individual had no COVID symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around them during what is a very stressful time.”
The hospital system initially reported 43 infections Saturday evening, but one person also received positive results overnight, for a total 44 cases.
Hospital officials said Sunday that they were testing patients who may have been exposed to the staff members in question, but they were not aware of any patients who were infected due to the event.
Chavez said the hospital system is investigating the outbreak and using contact tracing to personally notify and test any staff or patients who were exposed during this time period based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health guidelines.
Employees confirmed to have COVID-19 or suspected of having the virus due to symptoms will not come to work, she said.
Although the hospital system would not say how many emergency department staff have been vaccinated, Chavez said staff who received a first dose of the vaccine less than 10 days ago “would not be expected to have reached immunity when this exposure occurred.”
Kaiser Permanente says it has vaccinated more than 37,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers in Northern California, with vaccinations continuing every day.
The San Jose medical center remains open and the emergency department is undergoing deep cleaning.
But the infections will no doubt put pressure on an already inundated hospital struggling to keep up with a surge in coronavirus patients.
About 7% of all intensive care unit beds in Santa Clara County are currently available. Officials reported 1,784 new cases of the virus on Saturday, reflecting diagnoses over the past few days, officials said.
About 300 people work in the hospital emergency department, Chavez said; it was not immediately clear whether staffing would be impacted by the infections. The facility has been “engaging additional staff as part of our readiness for an increase in the number of COVID cases in the emergency department and hospital,” she added.
“Obv iously this is a highly unusual situation involving a well- intentioned staff member acting on their own without advance notice or approval,” Chavez said. “We are reinforcing with our staff that we do not allow (inflatable costumes) in our facilities.”
Chavez added that the hospital will be reinforcing safety precautions and protocols among staff, “including physical distancing and no gathering in break rooms, no sharing of food or beverages, and masks at all times.”