Sonoma County testing reveals staffer at Sebastopol nursing home has COVID-19

Sonoma County confirmed two more cases of coronavirus Sunday following the first case-free day in more than three weeks as the county’s caseload continues to grow in fits and starts toward a predicted peak some six weeks away.

The small increase comes as local health officials target skilled nursing facilities for more stringent monitoring amid fears of a rapid and deadly spread of the disease among the ranks of Sonoma County’s elderly population.

Health officials in the Bay Area have expressed cautious optimism about the numbers but are preparing for the worst. Last week, Sonoma County signed a $5 million contract with Sonoma State University to bring hundreds of extra hospital beds, as well as isolation rooms, into the county’s health care pipeline to brace for a surge predicted to hit between May 28 and June 2.

By Sunday evening, testing programs had identified 147 Sonoma County residents with the new coronavirus, which is known to cause the respiratory disease COVID-19. Of those, 21 were hospitalized and 61 have recovered. Two people have died.

Albert “Alby” Kass, a well-known singer and resort owner in Guerneville, died last month at an Alameda County nursing home where he contracted coronavirus while recovering from a broken hip, according to news reports. At least seven patients at the Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center in Hayward have succumbed to the disease, and dozens of other residents and staff reportedly have been infected.

Kass’ case doesn’t appear to have been counted in Sonoma County, which has seen its number of cases attributed to community spread dwindle amid increased efforts to trace contacts. There’s still fear among health officials that one spark in a single vulnerable population could change the county’s otherwise low trajectory.

“All it takes is one case at a skilled nursing facility … the picture would completely change,” Sonoma County Public Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said last week.

Sonoma County is actively seeking out those cases using an enhanced surveillance program, which recently identified a staff member at a Sebastopol-?based skilled nursing facility had been infected with the virus without displaying any symptoms.

The positive case at Apple Valley Post-Acute Rehab is merely a close call at this point but a frightening one, given the grim toll the virus has taken at similar facilities around the nation. More than 3,300 deaths nationwide have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to the latest count by the Associated Press.

In Sonoma County, the unidentified, asymptomatic staff member at Apple Valley is now being quarantined, said Nicole Francois, a publicist for the Sebastopol skilled nursing home.

The employee was one of about 15 workers in the sample group, Francois said. Only the one staff member’s test came back positive, on Thursday, leading to additional testing of potential contacts, including about 40 residents - half the facility’s clients, Francois said. Everyone else has tested negative at this point, she said.

Apple Valley representatives have since reached out to the primary contacts for each patient to inform them of the situation, Francois said. The infected staff member wore unidentified protective equipment in all interactions with patients, so any exposure would be limited, Francois said.

Other medical vendors who provide services at Apple Valley and potentially other such facilities have been notified of any potential exposure to the infected staff member, she said.

“The county is concerned about coronavirus spreading rapidly among high-risk individuals,” county spokeswoman Jennifer Larocque said. “That is why we’re doing this enhanced surveillance program. We’re looking for cases before they become an issue.”

The program, in operation for about 10 days, has so far detected only a single COVID-positive person among 47 people and providers in the homeless community, 74 skilled nursing staff and residents and 22 individuals and employees in assisted living facilities, she said.

Additional testing is planned at the county jail and in more skilled nursing and assisted living settings.

The county health department will not identify any future licensed facilities where positive tests are found, Larocque said, citing the county’s broad reading of patient privacy provisions under federal law. The county confirmed Apple Valley’s single test only because the company acknowledged it first.

Any follow-up testing at Apple Valley depends on continued monitoring of staff and residents, and will be determined after close communication between the facility and public health officials, Larocque said.

Sonoma County has also been slow to provide additional demographic information related to its confirmed COVID-19 cases. After initially promising to reveal more data after the county surpassed 100 cases ­- including age breakdowns for those hospitalized and locations for travel-related cases - public health officials have yet to share that information publicly. The county passed the 100-case milestone April 3.

The county has charted reported symptoms of COVID-19-positive patients, as well as underlying medical conditions. Fully 75% of those who have tested positive reported no underlying conditions, while 21% smoked or had smoked and 18% had chronic lung disease, according to county data.

A dry cough was the most common reported symptom, with 81% of people who tested positive reporting that symptom. Just 3% reported nausea or vomiting, according to the data.

Sonoma County has so far charted 3,479 negative test results compared to the 147 positive tests.

Staff Writer Tyler Silvy can be reached at 707-526-8667 or tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @tylersilvy. Staff Writer Mary Callahan can be reached at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.