Inflatable Christmas Costume Possibly Linked To COVID-19 Cluster At Bay Area Hospital

Dozens of staff at a Bay Area hospital tested positive for COVID-19 recently, possibly because of an inflatable costume that was meant to "lift" people's spirits.

At least 43 emergency department staff members of Kaiser Permanente San Jose tested positive for COVID-19 from Dec. 27 to Jan. 1, hospital senior vice president and area manager Irene Chavez confirmed. Hospital authorities are investigating the cause of the outbreak. They say it may be connected to an inflatable costume that an employee briefly wore on Christmas day. At the time, the employee was not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, ABC 7 reported.

Terming the exposure, possibly because of a well-meaning gesture, as "accidental" and "innocent," Chavez said the case shows how the virus can spread even without symptoms and why it is important to be careful even after getting the vaccine.

The emergency staff had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine just several days before the potential exposure, ABC 7 reported. It's possible that they had not reached immunity at the time of the said exposure. Further, it was only the first dose of the vaccine. The full dose is needed to get protection from the virus.

Just last week, for instance, a San Diego nurse tested positive for the virus just a few days after getting the vaccine.

The Kaiser Permanente San Jose is conducting contact tracing to identify any staff or even patients who may have been exposed because of the incident and is deep cleaning the department.

The hospital remains open, although "air-powered" costumes will no longer be allowed in the facility, ABC 7 reported.

"Nearly 40,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers in Northern California have already received COVID-19 vaccinations, with more continuing each day, taking us a step closer to controlling the pandemic," Kaiser Permanente said in a statement obtained by ABC 7.

"Even as the vaccine is beginning to be provided in our communities, given the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community we are all still vulnerable and it remains critical for everyone to continue using the methods to help protect ourselves and others - especially masks, hand washing, avoiding gatherings, and social distancing," the statement said.

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase in many states, California hospital systems have been urging the public to not "share your air" by keeping mouths covered, stay a safe distance from others, opt to gather outdoors where the air is moving rather than indoors and keep interactions with others short.

"Hospital system leaders stressed that while hope is on the horizon in the form of COVID-19 vaccines, no one can let their guard down, and everyone has a role to play in stopping the spread," Kaiser Permanente said.