Inflatable Christmas costume suspected in COVID outbreak at California hospital

A Kaiser Permanente San Jose emergency room employee briefly donned an inflatable costume on Christmas to “lift the spirits” of fellow workers, hospital officials say.

Now 44 hospital employees, including the person who wore the costume, have tested positive for COVID-19, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Officials say the air-powered costume may have inadvertently spread the virus through the emergency room.

Hospital officials announced Sunday night that one worker had died, KNTV reported.

“Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent, and quite accidental, as the individual had no COVID symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around them during what is a very stressful time,” said Irene Chavez, hospital senior vice president, in a statement, KGO reported.

“If anything, this should serve as a very real reminder that the virus is widespread, and often without symptoms, and we must all be vigilant,” Chavez said, according to the station.

The outbreak began Dec. 27 and 44 emergency room employees have tested positive in the past week, KPIX reported.

Contact-tracing efforts are underway to identify and notify anyone else who may have been exposed, Chavez told the station.

Some hospital workers had received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but have not received a second dose needed for full effectiveness, KNTV reported. Vaccines also do not provide a 100% guarantee against infection, hospital officials say.

The hospital is undergoing a deep cleaning and staff members are offered weekly testing, KTVU reported.

Air-powered costumes have been banned from the hospital, Chavez told the Chronicle.

“We are taking steps to reinforce safety precautions among staff, including physical distancing and no gathering in break rooms, no sharing of food or beverages, and masks at all times,” Chavez said, according to the publication.

More than 84 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 1.8 million deaths as of Jan. 3, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 20 million confirmed cases with more than 350,000 deaths.

This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Inflatable Christmas costume suspected in COVID outbreak at California hospital."