Instead of spreading the joy of Christmas, an inflatable Christmas costume may have helped spread COVID-19 to dozens of employees at a California hospital, according to a report.
Forty-three employees at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center contracted the virus between December 27 and New Year’s Day, and officials say the outbreak may be related to an employee who entered the facility wearing an “air-powered costume” on Christmas Day, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The hospital is investigating the possibility that the fan with the costume will spread respiratory droplets into the air exhaled by a person infected with the virus in the emergency room.
“Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent and accidental, as the individual had no symptoms of COVID and just sought to lift the spirits of those around him during a very stressful period,” Irene Chavez, senior vice president and manager of downtown area told the newspaper.
“At the very least, this should serve as a very real reminder that the virus is widespread, and often without symptoms, and we should all be vigilant,” added Chávez.
Doctors, nurses, technicians and assistants who tested positive for COVID-19 last week will now isolate while officers perform contact tracking and staff members thoroughly clean up the hospital’s emergency department, officials said.
Inflatable costumes are now “obviously” banned from the health center, Chavez said.
Some 40,000 Kaiser Permanente health workers in California have already been inoculated against the deadly virus, but it is not clear whether any of the infected workers were among those vaccinated, according to the report.
It is also unclear exactly what type of inflatable suit the employee was wearing.