Coronavirus: Pleasanton Country Club Member Tests Positive

PLEASANTON, CA — A Castlewood Country Club member has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The member is feeling better and has not had a temperature in recent days, club management said Friday in a letter to members.

Club management said he was last on site Sunday, March 14, having lunch at the upscale Veranda restaurant and playing in the St. Patrick's Scramble Golf Tournament. Management is trying to identify people he was in contact with that day to notify them of the possible exposure.

Castlewood Country Club administrators did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.

The club said it had not heard he was sick at that time, but sanitized the Veranda and clubhouse after the event, in accordance with its cleaning policies.

Don't miss updates about coronavirus precautions as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

The club asked anyone experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness to contact the general manager as soon as possible, stay home, and contact their health care provider and local public health officials.

Castlewood Country Club canceled March member events and closed its casual Members' Grille restaurant Monday, March 15, according to an email sent to members. It closed Tuesday, March 16 after the Alameda County shelter-in-place order was issued and reopened Wednesday, March 25 to offer pick-up meal service.

There were 240 positive coronavirus cases and six coronavirus-related deaths in Alameda County as of Saturday, according to the Alameda County Public Health Department.

Other Tri-Valley organizations have also announced positive coronavirus tests.

On Friday San Ramon Valley Unified School District announced three people affiliated with schools had tested positive for the virus. SRVUSD said it was awaiting official confirmation from county health officials.

A resident of Sunrise Senior Living in Pleasanton was recently hospitalized after testing positive for the virus. No other residents were experiencing symptoms as of a week ago.

Earlier this month Bay Club in Pleasanton told members an employee who last worked in child care had tested positive for coronavirus.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Read more:

• Resources To Help Tri-Valley Residents: Coronavirus
• Take-Out Options For Tri-Valley Diners: Coronavirus
• Coronavirus: Care For Your Mental Health In Tri-Valley
• Coronavirus: San Ramon School Reports Positive Test
• California Coronavirus: Live Updates On Cases, Closures, Orders