Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]..
After Kaiser Permanente Hospital officials reported Jan. 2 that between Dec. 27 and Jan. 1, 43 medical staff members in the unit's emergency department in San Jose tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, one of them has died.
This was reported by NBC News, which noted that the COVID-19 outbreak at that San Jose hospital was likely caused by a staff member who dressed as a red-nosed Christmas tree in the emergency department.
The costume, which was powered by air through a fan, was used to bring cheer to the medical center on Christmas Day, which could have circulated droplets containing the coronavirus, The Washington Post noted.
In a statement to The Post, Irene Chavez, the hospital's senior vice president and area manager, said that "obviously, this is a ?very unusual? situation involving a well-meaning staff member acting on his own without prior notice or approval."
"Any exposure, if it had occurred, would have been completely innocent and quite accidental, as the individual had no symptoms of covid," he added.
The outbreak is under investigation and contact tracing to notify those patients or personnel who may have been exposed to the virus.
The situation follows a spike in COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County after many disobeyed health experts' vacation warnings.
"It's quite possible that we'll see a post-seasonal surge, in the sense of Christmas, New Year's, and as I've described it, like surge after surge."
Dr. Anthony Fauci to CNN
A mutant strain of the coronavirus that is believed to be more contagious than the existing strain has public health experts concerned that the new wave could have catastrophic consequences.
It is worth noting that over the weekend, the U.S. surpassed 350,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, Bay Area Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity as of Sunday was 8.4 percent, according to the state's COVID-19 website.
Los Angeles County, which has positioned itself as the epicenter of COVID-19 nationally, is part of a Southern California region that reports 0.0 percent ICU capacity, as is the San Joaquin Valley region, which also reports zero ICU capacity.
A South Bay hospital reported that it maxed out its capacity last week and sent patients to extra beds.
