The explosive Christmas costume worn by the hospital employee is blamed for infecting 43 people from the emergency service with COVID-19 at the California hospital
- 43 officials from the emergency service of the Kaiser Permanent Medical Center in San José tested positive for COVID-19 between December 27 and January 1
- Officials are investigating whether an airy costume worn by an employee on Christmas Day could be related to the outbreak
- “Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent and quite accidental, as the individual had no symptoms of COVID,” hospital officials said.
- Emergency personnel were the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine less than ten days ago, but would not have achieved immunity without the second shot.
- Now all the infected are isolated and the hospital is undergoing a thorough cleaning
At least 43 staff at a California hospital have been infected with COVID-19 over the past week and officials are investigating whether an inflatable Christmas dress worn by an employee for the holidays may have caused the outbreak.
Emergency service staff at Kaiser Permanent Medical Center in San Jose tested positive between December 27 and January 1.
Officials said staff briefly showed up at the emergency service on Christmas Day in an air-powered inflatable costume.
The employee wearing the costume has not been revealed.
“A staff member briefly appeared in the emergency department on Dec. 25 in an air-powered costume,” Irene Chávez, senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser’s San Jose Medical Center, told the San Francisco Chronicle .
“Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been totally innocent and quite accidental, as the individual had no symptoms of COVID and only intended to lift the spirits of those around him at a very stressful time,” he said.
At least 43 members of the emergency department at Kaiser Permanent Medical Center in San Jose tested positive for COVID-19 last week, and officials say an inflatable costume worn by staff on Christmas Day may be to blame.
Emergency personnel were the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine less than ten days ago, but the hospital said it “was not expected to have achieved immunity when this exposure occurred.”
Officials added: “It is not only important to vaccinate everyone, but to receive the necessary doses of vaccine to protect them.”
Health officials say people should receive both doses of the vaccine to protect them.
Now the hospital is investigating the outbreak.
The hospital’s emergency department remains open and safe to receive patients and all areas of the department are conducting a thorough clean-up while those infected remain isolated.
Emergency personnel were the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine less than ten days ago, but the hospital said it “was not expected to have achieved immunity when this exposure occurred.” An image of a member of the Kaiser Permanente vaccinated the previous December 14th
The outbreak occurs as cases increase in the California epicenter, with intensive care capacity falling to 5.1 percent in the Bay Area on Saturday. A view of a PPE nurse in the ICU of Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana on December 18
Overall, California has reported more than 2.3 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 26,000 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic. A view of nurses caring for a COVID-19 patient at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California, on December 18
“Viously, obviously, we will no longer allow airborne costumes in our facilities,” Chávez said.
“At the same time, we are taking steps to strengthen safety precautions among staff, including physical distancing and meeting in rest rooms, without sharing food or drinks and masks at all times,” the hospital said, according to ABC7.
DailyMail.com has been contacted for more details.
Nearly 40,000 health workers at Kaiser Permanent have already received COVID-19 vaccines and it is expected that there will be more soon.
The outbreak comes as cases escalate in the California epicenter, with intensive care capacity falling to 5.1 percent in the Bay Area on Saturday.
Overall, California has reported more than 2.3 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 26,000 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic. More than 20 million cases and more than 350,000 deaths have been reported across the country.