A COVID-19 explosion at a California hospital has killed nine residents

Nine people have been killed and more than 60 residents and staff injured in a corona virus outbreak at a hospital in central California, health officials said Wednesday.

The Watsonville Post Acute Center in Santa Cruz County erupted as rates for new COVID-19 cases dropped across the district and across California as a whole.

The first case was discovered on Sept. 17, when a resident tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting a hospital for unrelated medical reasons, the district’s deputy public health officer, Dr. David Gillard, said.

The test quickly showed that two more dozen residents had the virus, but showed no signs, he said.

A corona virus outbreak at the Watsonville Post Acute Center in Santa Cruz County (pictured) has killed nine people and injured more than 60 residents and staff, health officials said Wednesday.

The first case was discovered on Sept. 17, when a resident tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting a hospital for unrelated medical reasons, the district’s deputy public health officer, Dr. David Gillard, said. Authorities announced five additional deaths on Wednesday

The facility currently has 56 residents. Currently seventeen people are separated from COVID-19-positive and other residents.

Twenty-seven residents tested negative, but were undoubtedly isolated due to the exposure and a dozen residents showed no evidence of exposure, Gillard said.

Glarduci said 15 employees who tested positive were isolated at home or in hotel rooms provided by the county.

This caused a staffing problem and members of the National Guard were called in for help, he said. Half the deaths occurred in the last two weeks, and the rest occurred over the weekend, he said.

They account for half of the 18 COVID-19 deaths that have occurred in the county since the outbreak.

‘We don’t know now what caused this to explode,’ he said. ‘I talk to their medical director every day trying to figure this out’.

State public health workers are also involved, he said.

Other nursing facilities in the county have shown only a handful of cases in recent months, he said.

Efficient nursing facilities were hotspots for COVID-19 infection in the early months of the epidemic.

Last week, Cove Gavin signed a law on Newsom (pictured) requiring skilled nursing facilities to report illness-related deaths in the event of an infectious emergency to the state public health department within 24 hours.

More than 847,000 viral illnesses and at least 16,419 deaths have been reported in California. There are now more than 7.6 million confirmed corona virus cases in the United States and at least 212,762 deaths (pictured)

Residents are generally older and have a variety of health problems that put them at higher risk of getting a serious case of corona virus.

At least 4,692 residents and staff have died, according to the California Department of Public Health, which accounts for nearly a third of California COVID-19 deaths.

Last week, Gov. Gavin signed a law requiring skilled nursing facilities to report illness-related deaths in the event of an infectious disease emergency to the state public health department within 24 hours.

Nursing Homes staff should have a full-time ‘infection prevention specialist’ for this activity and have a plan to prevent infections.

More than 847,000 viral illnesses and at least 16,419 deaths have been reported in California.

The United States now has more than 7.6 million confirmed corona virus cases and at least 212,762 deaths.