The explosive Christmas costume worn by the hospital employee is accused of infecting 43 emergency department employees with COVID-19 at the California hospital
- 43 employees at the Emergency Department of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center San Jose tested positive for COVID-19 between December 27 and January 1
- Officials are investigating whether an air-conditioned suit worn by an employee on Christmas Day may be linked to the outbreak
- “Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent and quite accidental, because the individual had no COVID symptoms,” hospital officials said.
- Emergency personnel were the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine less than 10 days ago, but would not have reached immunity yet without the second blow.
- All those infected are now isolated, and the hospital is undergoing a thorough clean-up
At least 43 employees at a California hospital have been infected with COVID-19 in the past week, and officials are investigating whether an inflatable Christmas costume worn by a holiday employee could have caused the outbreak.
The staff of the emergency department of Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center gave positive results between December 27 and January 1.
Officials said a staff member briefly showed up at the emergency room on Christmas Day wearing a motorized inflatable suit.
The employee wearing the suit was not disclosed.
“A staff member briefly appeared in the emergency department on Dec. 25 wearing an air suit,” Irene Chavez, senior vice president and area manager at Kaiser San Jose Medical Center, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Any exposure, if it had taken place, would have been completely innocent and quite accidental, because the individual had no COVID symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around him during a very stressful time,” she said.
At least 43 employees of the Emergency Department of Kaiser Permanent Medical Center San Jose have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week, and officials say an inflatable suit worn by staff on Christmas Day could be to blame.
Emergency personnel were the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine less than 10 days ago, but the hospital said it “would not have expected to have reached immunity when this exposure occurred.”
Officials added: “It is important not only for everyone to be vaccinated, but to receive the two doses of vaccine needed to be protected.”
Health officials say people need to receive the two doses of the vaccine to be protected.
The hospital is now investigating the outbreak.
The hospital’s emergency department is still open and safe to receive patients and all areas of the department are thoroughly cleaned while those infected enter isolation.
Emergency personnel were the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine less than 10 days ago, but the hospital said it “would not have expected to have reached immunity when this exposure occurred.” An image of a Kaiser Permanente staff member who was vaccinated on December 14 above
The outbreak comes as cases increase in the California epicenter, with intensive care capacity falling to 5.1% in the Bay area on Saturday. A view of an ICU nurse at the ICU at the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana on December 18 above
Overall, California has recorded more than 2.3 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 26,000 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. A view of nurses caring for a patient with COVID-19 at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California, on December 18 above
“Obviously, we will no longer allow air suits in our facilities,” Chavez said.
“At the same time, we are taking steps to strengthen safety measures among staff, including physical distance and lack of assembly in break rooms, sharing food or drink and masks at all times,” the hospital said, according to ABC7.
DailyMail.com contacted for more details.
Nearly 40,000 health workers at Kaiser Permanente have already received COVID-19 vaccines and more are expected soon.
The outbreak comes as cases increase in the California epicenter, with intensive care capacity falling to 5.1% in the Bay area on Saturday.
Overall, California has recorded more than 2.3 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 26,000 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. At the national level, over 20 million cases and over 350,000 deaths have been reported.