Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Officials at Kaiser Permanente Hospital reported Saturday that 43 medical staff members in the unit's San Jose emergency department tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between Dec. 27 and Jan. 1, so the outbreak is being investigated.
In a statement, the hospital said that in addition to the investigation, contact tracing is being used "to personally notify and assess any staff or patients who were exposed during this period, according to CDC and public health guidelines.
The hospital is already investigating an incident in which a staff member briefly appeared in the emergency department on Christmas Day in an air costume that included a ventilator, a situation that may have caused air drops to spread throughout the hospital.
In response, Kaiser Permanente said it will no longer allow air costumes at any facility, noted NBC Bay Area.
While the hospital said it is open and safe for patients to receive care, it is already working on screening all of its employees and emergency department doctors for the virus that causes VIDOC-19.
He said that any person who tests positive or has symptoms of VOC-19 will be quarantined according to the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Similarly, the statement details that the emergency department is undergoing a thorough cleaning.
He added that even though the vaccine has already begun to be administered in communities, given the prevalence of the virus, we are all still vulnerable.
That is why "it remains critical that everyone use the methods to help protect ourselves and others, especially wearing masks, washing hands, avoiding meetings and social distancing.
