Yolo County reports COVID-19 outbreak at nursing facility. It’s the second one this week
Yolo County on Wednesday afternoon announced another nursing facility has reported a coronavirus outbreak. This time it’s Cottonwood Post-Acute Rehab in Woodland, where 22 residents and six staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.
Out of 28 total confirmed COVID-19 cases, one resident infected with the virus has been hospitalized, Yolo county officials said in a news release. No deaths have been reported from this outbreak.
Earlier this week, the county reported a second COVID-19 outbreak of the pandemic at Riverbend Nursing Center in West Sacramento. The nursing home had 22 total confirmed COVID-19 cases, with nine residents and 13 employees testing positive, county officials announced Monday evening. The facility is licensed for 99 beds.
At the Cottonwood facility, more than 180 residents and staff have been tested for COVID-19, according to county healthy officials. The county will provide weekly testing at the facility for the duration of this outbreak.
County officials said Cottonwood staff have isolated all residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The facility also is monitoring staff and residents for symptoms, according to the county’s news release.
Since March 13, Cottonwood Post-Acute Rehab has implemented “a no visitors policy” to protect residents by reducing the risk of exposure to the virus. There is a high risk of infection at nursing facilities, where vulnerable older or elderly residents with underlying health conditions live in “congregate settings,” county officials said.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in nursing facilities in the county are on the rise, but Yolo officials say they account for a small number of the county’s total cases. They said the majority of the county’s recent COVID-19 cases stem from community spread, social gatherings and exposures in the workplace.
Late last month in an amended health order, Yolo County put a strict limit on attendance for social gatherings: No parties or get-togethers of more than 16.
The county on Wednesday afternoon reported 43 new COVID-19 cases and reported one new death in Woodland, according to the county’s coronavirus dashboards. The county has reported a total of 3,933 cases and 71 deaths. At nursing facilities in the county, 282 COVID-19 cases and 42 deaths have been reported since the start of the pandemic. Out of those reported cases, 170 nursing facility residents and 112 staff members have been infected.
At Cottonwood, staff members have created stations to put on and take off personal protective equipment, set up isolation and quarantine units, launched contact investigations, are screening staff for symptoms before the start of each work shift, worked to improve social distancing and increased disinfection techniques to prevent further spread of the virus, county officials said.
