Outbreak at Watsonville Nursing Home
By Jondi Gumz
On Thursday, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel reported a ninth COVID-19 death and the prospect of two more fatalities amidst an outbreak at a Watsonville nursing home affecting six staff and 27 patients.
For Newel, these developments in the COVID-19 pandemic are very concerning, especially with Halloween on the horizon — a holiday that ordinarily would mean lots of festive gatherings.
She said she’s held back on Halloween guidance, expecting the state to do so.
“No big parties – no small parties,” she said, anticipating what state officials might say to prevent the contagious coronavirus from spreading.
As of Thursday, the number of COVID-19 cases in the county has grown to 2,319 with 306 active cases.
After leveling off, cases are up, with contract tracing showing some linked to Labor Day gatherings and others to fire evacuees in a shelter, she said.
The latest death was a Latinx woman in her 60s with an underlying condition.
Studies have shown people with conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes have a higher fatality rate when the virus attacks compared to people without these conditions.
The federal Centers for Disease Control recently noted this, indicating that for 6 percent of those who died, COVID-19 was the only cause of death.
Newel said she learned via phone that two more people with COVID-19 had died, but she is waiting for the death certificates to confirm that they were county residents.
The outbreak at Watsonville Post Acute, a skilled nursing facility, was discovered through surveillance testing, in which 25 percent of the staff is tested every week even if they have no symptoms. All seven skilled nursing facilities are following this protocol.
This is because health officials have learned that people who have no symptoms are able to spread the virus.
A staff member and a patient tested positive on Sept. 17, and further tests showed 27 of the 73 patients also were positive even though Watsonville Post Acute had followed all of the protocols for nursing homes, Newel said.
“We will never know” how the infection started, Newel added, but she believes it was “most likely” brought in by staff, some of whom work at other nursing homes.
The nursing home has separated patients into three zones, the confirmed cases, those who have been exposed, and those not exposed, she said, with staff assigned to a zone that matches their status.
The staffing has been so depleted that the California National Guard has been commandeered to fill in.
“We’re very grateful,” Newel said.
Watsonville Post Acute will not accept any new patients or discharge any patients until the situation is resolved.
Santa Cruz County will remain in the state’s “Red Tier” until Oct. 6, when cases counts will be re-evaluated. The tier limits restaurants, places of worship and movie theaters to 25 percent and fitness centers and yoga studios to 10 percent capacity.
Newel said 14 private schools are planning to restart in-person classes, according to a list from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, which has contracted with the Stanford University lab for surveillance testing of teachers.
Dr. Gail Newel
“Personally,” Newel said, “I’m happy to see just a few schools opening at this point, so we can kind of get our feet wet and see how we’re going to handle it from a public health perspective with contact tracing and case investigation to see what problems might arise.”
Newel said the testing availability has improved, with tests being offered at CVS along with the Optum site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville which is open through November and county-run clinics.
Testing turnaround also has improved, Newel said, with results in under 48 hours.
Anyone with symptoms is advised to call their primary care physician first, and Newel encouraged people to get their seasonal flu shot now.
“We don’t want hospitals to be overwhelmed,” she said.
On Sept. 14, Newel ordered all licensed healthcare facilities to implement a mandatory flu vaccine program, requiring health care workers to be vaccinated, or if they decline then wear a mask while working in patient care during flu season Oct. 31 to March 31.
The most COVID-19 cases, 32 percent, are among young people age 20-34, and that worries Mimi Hall, the county’s Health Services Agency director.
“Young people are essential workers. They haven’t been staying at home,” she said. “Going into the fall, having more indoors activity, all of the holidays happening … We’re all concerned.”
•••
Cases Around The County
| Aptos | 102 |
| Ben Lomond | 18 |
| Boulder Creek | 19 |
| Capitola | 63 |
| Felton | 23 |
| Freedom | 124 |
| Santa Cruz | 430 |
| Scotts Valley | 54 |
| Soquel | 58 |
| Watsonville | 1,300 |
| Unincorporated | 24 |
| Under Investigation | 140 |
| Total | 2,319 |