PLEASANTON, CA — A Bay Club Pleasanton child care associate tested positive for the new coronavirus, said Annie Appel, Bay Club Senior Executive Vice President.

The worker last showed up to the gym Thursday, March 12, Bay Club said in an email to members. They called in sick the next day and stayed home. Bay Club closed Sunday. The gym found out the employee tested positive Wednesday and emailed members. The club was sanitized and deep-cleaned by a specialized vendor, Bay Club said.

The employee is recovering in isolation, Bay Club said. No others have tested positive, Appel said. Don't miss updates about precautions as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters here.



All 25 Bay Club locations in California and Portland were closed prior to the shelter-in-place order, Appel said. All 6,000 employees continue to receive payment and have not been laid off or furloughed. Bay Club decided to close to protect the health and safety of members, Appel said. All facilities continue to be cleaned, even though they are closed.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency to provide additional resources, prevent price gouging and help the state better prepare for the virus's spread.

The emergency declaration followed the first known coronavirus-related death in California — an elderly Placer County resident who was exposed to the virus on a Grand Princess cruise Feb. 11-21 from San Francisco to Mexico and back.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.