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The Alameda County District Attorney’s office has opened an investigation into a Hayward nursing home where an increasing number of patients — 13 as of Wednesday — have died from coronavirus.

District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said her office has been investigating the Gateway Rehabilitation and Care Center, where 67 people — 41 patients and 26 staff — have contracted the virus so far.

“When all this started happening we started giving specific attention to certain facilities, Gateway being one,” O’Malley said in an interview Wednesday. “It’s complicated because a lot of people in (long-term care facilities) are already in vulnerable health, but it doesn’t mean we are not looking and being thorough in how we are conducting the investigation.”

Gateway’s owners, Anthony and Preda Thekakk of Alamo did not return messages Wednesday. Neither did Gateway’s director.

But county health officials said they are “deeply concerned about the situation at Gateway,” and added that they are continuing to work with state and medical providers to combat the crisis there.

State records show the home has a chronic problem with meeting staffing requirements. Families with loved ones in the 99-bed facility have also told this news organization they have concerns over the quality of care and whether staff has enough personal protective equipment to keep themselves and patients safe.

“We think that it was only right they opened an investigation,” said attorney Adante Pointer, who has called for a criminal probe into Gateway on behalf of a family who lost their husband and father to COVID-19 in the facility. “I’m certain if the District Attorney’s investigation comes up with what we have, they’ll be certain to charge.”

Among the dead at the Hayward facility is an elected official who championed his community: Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Trustee Marshall Mitzman, 73, who died Tuesday.

Mitzman, who obtained a doctorial degree from Cambridge University, was a business owner and involved in numerous philanthropic efforts in Hayward and the surrounding area. He was first elected to the college district in 2008 and served at least one term as its president, according to a biography provided by the school district. He was an adjunct instructor for both local community colleges and at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

“His passion for teaching and helping students achieve their goals came through in everything he did and every decision he made,” said Chabot-Las Positas interim chancellor Ronald Gerhard in a written statement.

Hayward Councilman Mark Salinas wrote in a Facebook post that Mitzman was a “steady leader, a thoughtful policy maker, and he always puts students front and center of his work.”

Union City Councilman Jaime Patiño’s 84-year-old grandmother Emma Patiño, who was a resident, died Monday, he confirmed to this news organization.

The councilman wrote in a public Facebook post that his grandmother grew up in Texas.

“My grandma was a beautiful, hard-working woman who did not deserve to go through this. And we will hold those responsible for this accountable. But now is not the time for that,” he wrote.

Another person who died at Gateway of COVID-19 was Meo Nguyen, 104, her granddaughter, Kristin Nguyen said.

Meo Nguyen had been at Gateway for six years, and was in good health prior the virus hitting her, Kristin Nguyen said. Meo Nguyen died April 1.

“She could have lived another year. She was able to take care of herself,” Kristin Nguyen said.

Like others, her family was not allowed into the facility to be with Meo Nguyen in her final hours. They were able to see her through her room’s window. “She looked very, very sick,” Kristin Nguyen said.

The dire situation is not unique to Gateway, as the number of infections and deaths mount in other Bay Area nursing homes.

One person has died at East Bay Post Acute Care in Castro Valley, where 45 patients and staff are stricken with the virus.

Of the 53 cases confirmed at Orinda Care Center, four people have died. At Carlton Senior Living in Pleasant Hill, 57 people have contracted the illness — 34 residents and 23 staff members.

Also this week, Santa Clara County health officials released a new set of data about long-term residential care facilities. The latest data on Wednesday showed that 275 patients and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus at 16 nursing homes in the county since the crisis began. Thirteen people have died. The county did not name the facilities.

Two residents of an independent living facility in the county have also died, and 14 people have tested positive there. The county also reported that there were 10 cases spread among six assisted living facilities and one case in a board and care home, which are smaller care homes for up to six people that do not provide medical services. County officials have declined to disclose the names of the facilities with outbreaks.

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Watch: Where are California’s coronavirus case rates dropping, and how far? Also on Wednesday, the health officer in San Mateo County, Dr. Scott Morrow, issued an order requiring nursing homes and other care facilities to increase screening of residents and staff for fever and signs of respiratory illness. He also ordered them to take “reasonable steps” to acquire personal protective equipment and to “alert county health within one hour of learning that a resident or staff member has tested positive for COVID-19.”

San Mateo County has not answered questions from this news organization about the number of nursing homes in the county with coronavirus infections, the number of infected staff and patients, the number of them who have died. One patient has died at a nursing home in Pacifica and two at an assisted living facility in Burlingame. The county health department has refused to update these numbers.

Please help us shed light on senior care by providing details by scrolling down and filling out the form below or email us at seniorcareinquiries@bayareanewsgroup.com. Your information will reach reporters who are covering the impact coronavirus is having on nursing homes and assisted living facilities. You can also leave a phone message at 510-208-6458. Thank you for your help.