Coronavirus: 2 North Bay Health-Care Workers In Isolation

SOLANO COUNTY, CA — Two NorthBay VacaValley Hospital health-care workers, one who lives in Solano County and the other who lives in Alameda County, are in isolation at home pending confirmation from the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention that they tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials with both counties said Sunday.

Alameda County Public Health Department and Solano Public Health reported that the two Vacaville hospital employees were deemed presumptive positive for the COVID-19 after being exposed to a Solano County resident whom public health authorities said last week was the first person in California — and possibly the United States — known to have contracted the coronavirus via person-to-person spread within the community.

The Solano County resident is currently hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, and is slowly recovering, public health officials said Sunday.

"The individual’s family members had negative test results for COVID-19 so far and remain in quarantine," officials said.

"Due to the aggressive measures that public health and hospital staff undertook, all potential exposures to the case were promptly identified and isolated so that patients are not placed at higher risk," Solano County Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas said.

"Health-care officials have immediately updated protocols and procedures to ensure patient safety is prioritized," Matyas said. "This underscores the challenging environment that health-care workers everywhere face to stem the spread of communicable diseases, including COVID-19. Health care and Public Health officials throughout the state are committed to protecting patients."

“As always, our top priority is the health and safety of our patients, our staff, physicians and the
community,” said Aimee Brewer, president of NorthBay HealthCare Group. “Our two health care
workers who tested positive have been in isolation at home since the day we learned they had contact with the patient who had contracted the virus. We took immediate and comprehensive measures intended to stop any further spread of the virus, including working with public health officials to trace the contacts the two workers may have had. We remain in close contact with national, state and local public health authorities to ensure we are following the most up-to-date protocols and procedures for dealing with this evolving situation.”

The two presumptive positive cases involving the two North Bay health-care workers were among five new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the Bay Area over the weekend. The Santa Clara Public Health Department announced a husband and wife who had both recently traveled to Egypt were suffering from the new coronavirus. The husband is said to have "chronic health conditions."

The third newly confirmed Santa Clara County case is a woman who also suffers from chronic health conditions.

All three Santa Clara County patients are hospitalized, according to a statement from the health department. Their conditions were not publicly shared Sunday.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.