Coronavirus concerns shutter senior center
SAN BRUNO » The city of San Bruno has temporarily closed its senior center amid concerns about possible coronavirus exposure.
In a news release Thursday, the city said the facility at 1555 Crystal Springs Road was visited over the past few weeks by three individuals who recently traveled aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship now holding off the coast of San Francisco due to confirmed cases of the coronavirus, known officially as COVID-19, and one death from a previous voyage.
One of the individuals on Wednesday reported “low-level cold symptoms,” which have since subsided, according to the city. The others have not reported any symptoms.
“All three people have been contacted by health officials and advised to self-quarantine,” the city said.
The individuals traveled aboard the Grand Princess Feb. 11-21. Two other passengers on that trip are confirmed to have been infected with the virus, and on Wednesday, one became the first person in California to die from the disease. He was a 71-year-old man with underlying health conditions who lived in the Placer County town of Rocklin.
News of the death came as the cruise ship was returning to San Francisco from its latest voyage. Officials ordered it to hold off the coast until its 3,500 passengers can be screened for the virus. Fewer than 100 have been identified for testing, The Associated Press reported.
The city of San Bruno said it was not aware of any confirmed cases of COVID-19 within its limits and is working with county and state officials to investigate any potential connections between passengers on the Grand Princess and individuals who may have visited the senior center. The facility, meanwhile, is expected to reopen Tuesday.
Elsewhere, seven Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety officers were potentially exposed to the virus Thursday morning when they gave CPR to a dying 72-year-old man they later learned had been on a cruise with two passengers suspected of having the disease. It was not im- mediately clear if the man had traveled aboard the Grand Princess.
Chief Phan S. Ngo said the officers were quarantined “out of an abundance of caution” and later sent home.
“We are asking our community members to remain calm,” Ngo said at a news conference. “We don’t yet know if the patient had COVID-19. The precautions we have taken exceed the recommendations by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).”