FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2020
Santa Clara County, CA – The County of Santa Clara’s Public Health Department is actively investigating and responding to all concerns about potential cases of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), including licensed skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, and board and care facilities in the county. As of April 9, 2020, across the county, there are 164 confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated with LTCFs, including 50 staff. This is not unexpected given widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the community.
“Protecting patients in long-term care and skilled nursing facilities is a specific, focused area of our work,” said Dr. Sarah Rudman, Santa Clara County Assistant Health Officer. “We have specialized teams dedicated to providing guidance to long-term care facilities, investigating potential cases, and providing comprehensive and intensive interventions where needed to stop the spread of COVID-19, to protect residents and patients.”
The County has issued detailed guidance to all skilled nursing facilities and other long term care facilities on practices related to COVID-19 and conducting onsite consultation as needed. The Public Health Department is also providing comprehensive testing to asses potential outbreaks in certain facilities
Additionally, where there is evidence of transmission within a facility, the Public Health Department works with administrators to institute aggressive interventions. The County is also working to support facilities to meet staffing needs by deploying Disaster Service Workers and staffing support from other entities, including hospitals throughout the county.
Visit the County of Santa Clara COVID-19 website for frequent updates.
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