Coronavirus Update: San Francisco Health Director Warns Of COVID-19 Outbreak At Laguna Honda Hospital
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco Director of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax Friday warned of an oncoming outbreak of coronavirus at Laguna Honda Hospital following news of new infections at the hospital, including one patient.
Colfax said despite the entire campus being quarantined earlier this week, six staff members have now contracted COVID-19, along with a patient at the 750-bed complex, one of the nation's largest nursing and rehabilitation centers.
"I must say, and I am sad to say this, we do expect an outbreak. Our plan for the outbreak includes testing affected staff and residents, which is already underway," said Colfax. "We have begun bringing in additional resources, including staff and expertise, on long-term care, infection control, and infectious disease from our own DPH system, but also reaching out to key partners including UCSF and Sutter Health to strengthen our response."
Colfax said all six staff members and the patient are in good condition and their individual building units have been quarantined.
The city quarantined portions of Laguna Honda hoping to keep coronavirus away from the 750 residents inside. Now, residents and staff members are being tested to determine who else might be infected.
"We have begun bringing in additional resources, including staff and experts on long-term care, infection control, and infectious disease," Colfax said of the response.
One staff member at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, a worker who provides patient care in the emergency department, was also diagnosed with the virus and was self-isolating at home, Colfax said.
More diagnosed cases are inevitable, Colfax said. "Simply put, the more testing we do, the more cases we will find," he said.
Colfax said the city's health department was issuing new guidelines "above and beyond" the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and would provide isolation masks for all health care workers and patients in at risk-settings, even as he acknowledged a shortage of masks and other personal protective equipment.
"As we continue to plan, predict and respond, sometimes we are ahead, sometimes we are right on time, and sometimes we may be a beat behind. But so far, we have been preparing for just what is happening now. And we will continue to use data, science and facts to be as proactive as possible to protect our community and reduce the harm that the coronavirus causes," said Colfax.
Colfax made the announcements Friday at a press conference with Mayor London Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott.
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