Yolo health order requires nursing facility employees and visitors to get COVID tests
A new Yolo County health order requires employees at skilled nursing facilities to be tested twice weekly for COVID-19 regardless of their vaccination status as the county responds to a growing number of omicron variant cases.
Yolo County public health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson issued the new health order a day following the announcement of 42 additional cases of the highly contagious variant, including an outbreak of at least 30 COVID-19 cases linked to “a single workplace holiday party” in Davis. Ten of the cases linked to the party held indoors at an “off-site location,” have been confirmed as omicron. Masks were not worn by attendees while eating and drinking at the party, a county spokesman has said.
Less than two weeks ago, county health officials had detected the Sacramento region’s first case of the COVID-19 omicron variant. Last week, the county identified an outbreak of six cases linked to a West Sacramento high school classroom.
The new health order also requires visitors at skilled nursing facilities to also provide proof of a negative test for COVID-19 regardless of their vaccination status, according to a county news release. Testing all individuals entering these facilities will reduce the introduction of the virus, county health officials said.
Vaccinations, including booster doses, provide vital protection against serious COVID-19 disease, but older adults with underlying conditions may still develop severe COVID-19 illness despite vaccination, officials said in the news release. Out of the 266 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Yolo County residents, 72 (or 27%) were residents of skilled nursing facilities.
County health officials said verifying staff and visitor vaccination status is not sufficient to protect vulnerable residents, because even fully vaccinated and boosted people can become infected with the omicron variant. Sisson said requiring everybody entering a facility to have a recent negative test for COVID-19 is a critical step to keep residents there safe.
The health order goes into effect on Dec. 27 and will remain in effect through Jan. 31, unless otherwise ordered by the health officer.
“We have a responsibility to protect vulnerable residents of skilled nursing facilities from COVID-19,” Sisson said in the news release. “The highly transmissible Omicron variant will be difficult to stop once it is introduced into a skilled nursing facility, so we need to take additional steps to keep the virus out of these facilities in the first place.”
The county health order is being issued in addition to a California public health order updated Dec. 22 that requires skilled nursing facility workers who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster dose to get a booster shot by Feb. 1.
Visitors can provide any of the following as proof of a negative test:
▪ A printed document from the test provider or laboratory.
▪ A test result displayed on a phone or other device from the test provider or laboratory.
▪ A test conducted in the presence of skilled nursing facility staff.
The new health order affects six facilities in Yolo County, including Alderson Convalescent Hospital, Cottonwood Post-Acute Rehab, Courtyard Healthcare Center, River Bend Nursing Center, University Retirement Community and Woodland Skilled Nursing.
This story was originally published December 24, 2021 at 10:25 AM.
