A California hospital is facing a potential $ 43,000 fine from county health officials for alleged delays in reporting a Covid-19 overspread event related to an inflatable Christmas tree costume.
Health giant Kaiser Permanente on Tuesday denied any delay in notifying Covid-19 cases related to a Christmas party in the emergency department at San Jose Medical Center.
“The suggestion that we are not close to our reporting is inaccurate,” said Kaiser Permanente in a statement to NBC News, adding that “it has maintained consistent communications with various state and local agencies about COVID-19 cases at our facilities.”
The fine issued last Tuesday is $ 1,000 for each late case report, but since early January the number of infections related to the Christmas event has increased from 43 to more than 90.
On Tuesday, county health officials said they counted 77 employees and 15 patient cases linked to the event. A team member died.
The Santa Clara County Department of Public Health said it was unaware of the first 43 cases until last week’s news.
“Kaiser Permanente did not report any of these cases on the County Case and Contact Reports Portal, as required by the Public Health Order issued on October 5,” the department said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Kaiser Permanente said that the inflatable Christmas tree costume – although not yet definitively linked to the outbreak, the county health officials clarified – was an innocent gesture that “only sought to lift the spirits of those around him during a very stressful period. “
The organization said it is reviewing the Santa Clara county citation and will respond before the deadline on Friday.
According to the California Department of Public Health, Bay Area hospital intensive care units are over 95 percent full from Tuesday.
In the past few days, as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases rapidly approaches 3 million in California alone, Governor Gavin Newsom has received growing criticism for a slow release of Coronavirus vaccines in the state.
