South Bay Kaiser Coronavirus Outbreak Kills 1: Report

SAN JOSE, CA — A coronavirus outbreak at a San Jose hospital likely caused by a staffer dressing up in an “air-powered” Christmas costume has infected at least 44 employees and killed one, NBC News reports.

The staffer dressed as a red-nosed Christmas tree at Kaiser Permanente’s Medical Center’s emergency department on Christmas Day with the intention of bringing holiday cheer to the facility, The Washington Post reports.

Experts believe the costume fan may have circulated droplets containing the coronavirus throughout the department.

A spokeswoman described the circumstances surrounding the outbreak as “highly unusual” in a statement to The Post.

“Obviously this is a highly unusual situation involving a well-intentioned staff member acting on their own without advance notice or approval,” said Irene Chavez, the hospital’s senior vice president and area manager.

“Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent, and quite accidental, as the individual had no covid symptoms.”

The cause of the outbreak is under an investigation with contact tracing used to notify patients and staffers who may have been exposed, Chavez told The Post.

The outbreak comes amid a COVID-19 case explosion in Santa Clara County and throughout the nation that is expected to get worse after millions of Americans flouted admonitions from health experts by congregating with those outside their immediate households over the holidays, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN.

“We very well might see a post-seasonal — in the sense of Christmas, New Year’s — surge, and as I’ve described it, as a surge upon a surge,” America’s leading infectious disease expert told the cable news channel.

A mutant strain of the coronavirus believed to be more contagious than the existing strain has public health experts concerned that the new surge could have catastrophic implications.

Santa Clara County reported 887 new coronavirus cases and 37 deaths Sunday, bringing its total number of reported COVID-19 infections to 74,359 and its coronavirus death toll to 747.

The U.S. surpassed 350,000 coronavirus deaths over the weekend according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The Bay Area region went under stay-at-home orders Dec. 17 when its ICU capacity fell below 15 percent. The Bay Area’s capacity as of Sunday was 8.4 percent according to the state’s COVID-19 website.

Los Angeles County, currently the nation’s the coronavirus epicenter, is part of a Southern California region reporting 0 percent capacity. The San Joaquin Valley region has 0 percent capacity too.

A South Bay hospital reported maxing out its capacity last week and sending patients to surge beds.

Read more at The Washington Post