The COVID-19 outbreak at a San Jose hospital, linked to an inflatable Christmas tree costume, has now spread to at least 60 people.
Kaiser Permanente has said it is investigating whether the outfit worn by an emergency room worker on Christmas Day could have caused the spread that killed someone.
“This was not a Kaiser Permanente sponsored or approved activity,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“Any exposure, if it had happened, would have been completely harmless and quite accidental, as the individual had no Covid symptoms and was merely trying to cheer up the spirits of those around them during this very stressful time.”
Kaiser had reported 44 cases possibly related to the costume, but revised the figure late Tuesday. All 60 employees tested positive were in the ER on Christmas Day, The Mercury News reports.
The hospital is now investigating whether the air-powered suit, which had large eyes, a smile and a bright red nose, fueled the spread of virus-laden droplets.
DailyMail.com has contacted the hospital to find out what has happened to the costume since it was related to the outbreak.
California is so engulfed in the coronavirus pandemic that the state has ordered hospitals with room to accommodate patients of others who have done their very best in intensive care beds.
The giant inflatable Christmas tree costume associated with spreading COVID-19 to at least 43 California hospital staff, one of which was killed, is depicted in the wards
A colleague at the hospital who was working the morning of the incident told Mercury News that the woman wanted to provide her colleagues and patients with “ innocent ” festive relief.
“She just spread joy,” said the nurse, who did not want to be called by name.
The nurse said her colleague had surprised everyone at the emergency room nurse’s central station by showing up dressed in suits sometime between 9:00 am and 10:00 am on December 25.
‘You just see this Christmas tree running towards you and it makes you laugh. It was a moment of frivolity, and you go back to work, ”she recalled.
The nurse said she stayed six feet from the woman in costume, in accordance with social distance guidelines, and that she wore a mask and a face shield in addition to everyone else in the emergency department.
She talked about how the festive gesture had been ‘impulse’ and insisted that previous reports of a party or gathering of people around the woman in the costume were incorrect.
‘[They] painted us in the face of irresponsibility when we were hard at work to save lives. We don’t see our families. It portrayed us as people who didn’t care about our community, ‘she said.
She added that all employees wear masks and ‘don’t hug’ and that no one wore Santa hats to the emergency room this year in case they got in the way of personal protective equipment.
But on December 27, two days after the brief glee, the nurse said she had started showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Many colleagues who worked on Christmas Day also began to feel sick and show symptoms around the same time, she added.
The woman wearing the costume had no symptoms on Christmas Day, but later tested positive as well.
A nurse jumps in defense of her coworker who wore a Christmas tree costume now linked to a COVID-19 outbreak that killed one and infected 44 in a California hospital (above)
The unidentified hospital worker wore the new air-powered inflatable costume on Christmas Day in the wards of the Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center
NBC Bay Area News, which first reported the incident, said the deceased was a registry clerk described by her colleagues as an “absolutely wonderful woman.”
They quoted an employee who said the outbreak may have been caused by staff performing respiratory treatments in a room not designed for that purpose.
The coronavirus is mainly spread through respiratory droplets released when people breathe, speak, sing, cough or sneeze.
Although hospital workers begin to receive their Covid-19 vaccines, it takes about two weeks after the first dose for the body to have enough antibodies to fight infections, and both vaccines approved so far in the US require a booster injection .
Kaiser Permante said staff who received their first dose less than 10 days ago are not expected to have achieved immunity at the time of exposure.
The hospital offered employees expedited tests, conducted a thorough emergency room clean-up and amended protocols, including ending large gatherings in break rooms, it said.
The nurse added that she had a hard time getting around the idea that the costume could have caused the accumulation of cases.
“It just doesn’t seem quite plausible that she was it all, because it was just a moment in time compared to what we’re dealing with all the time,” said the nurse.
‘How is it that if this happened at nine in the morning, people were infected at three in the afternoon? Could this be happening? Yes. But was it tragically coincidental or something else? We just don’t know. ‘
An opinion from a Kaiser Permanente employee who was vaccinated above December 14. Many of the infected had already received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before the outbreak
Irene Chavez, senior vice president and regional manager, Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, said in a statement that it was “ a highly unusual situation where a well-intentioned employee was acting on their own without notice or approval. ”
“ Any exposure, if it had occurred, would have been completely harmless and quite accidental, as the person had no COVID symptoms and was only trying to cheer up the spirits of those around them during a very stressful time, ” she said .
“Obviously, we no longer allow air-powered suits in our facilities,” Chavez said.
At the same time, we are taking steps to strengthen staff safety measures, including physical distance and not congregating in break areas, not sharing food or drink and masks at all times, the hospital said, according to ABC7.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease expert at UCSF said the costume probably “acted as the mover of air in a tremendous way.” It’s like a fan that’s a bit multi-directional and random. ‘
The hospital is currently conducting contact tracking to determine whether other staff, patients or visitors may have been exposed to the virus.
It has also introduced weekly tests for its staff.
The hospital’s emergency department is still open and safe to receive patients and all areas of the ward undergo a thorough clean-up while the infected go into isolation.
Nearly 40,000 health workers at Kaiser Permanente have already received COVID-19 vaccines, and more are expected soon.
Los Angeles continues to see hospital admissions soar day in and day out, setting a new record Tuesday with nearly 8,000 admissions and more than a fifth of them in the ICU. The county, which accounts for a quarter of California’s 40 million residents, has more than 40% of the 27,000 deaths from the coronavirus in the state.
