Police applause, cruiser lights greet South Bay medical health workers arriving to hospital

Police officers and fire officials greet medical staff on their way into work at the Valley Medical Center in San Jose. Police officers and fire officials greet medical staff on their way into work at the Valley Medical Center in San Jose. Photo: Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Photo: Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Police applause, cruiser lights greet South Bay medical health workers arriving to hospital 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Doctors, nurses and other medical staffers working at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose were greeted by an unusual sight Wednesday morning on their way into the hospital: rows of police officers applauding.

The footage, posted by KPIX reporter Kiet Do, shows workers in face masks and scrubs walking by dozens of officers and their police cruisers and motorcycles, siren lights aglow.

According to Santa Clara Supervisor Cindy Chavez, California Sheriff Laurie Smith invited the county fire and police officers to "thank our heroes at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for all of their life saving."

Some officers also held signs reading "Some heroes wear scrubs" and "We appreciate all of you."

#TheseAreThePeopleInTheTrenchesEveryday #Appreciation

County of Santa Clara, California Sheriff Laurie Smith invited all of the county police and fire departments-to thank our heroes at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for all of their life saving pic.twitter.com/c1TerMrpS8 — Cindy Chavez (@SupCindyChavez) April 15, 2020

This is what greeted hospital workers during the shift change at Valley Medical Center this morning. @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/Ktupn3IYxN — Kiet Do (@KietKPIX) April 15, 2020

Santa Clara is the Bay Area county hardest-hit by the coronavirus. As of Monday, the county recorded more than 1,666 cases, with 60 deaths.

Last month, six employees tied to one particular unit at Valley Medical Center became sick in March. Four tested positive for COVID-19 and one other died.

Health care workers on the front lines are at a higher-than-average risk for contracting the coronavirus. Across the U.S., up to 20% of coronavirus cases have been found in health care workers, Axios reports, and in California, 2,599 health care workers in the state — roughly 11% of all California cases — tested positive for COVID-19.

"When we're in challenging times like this what we do is hold each other," said Chavez to KGO. "We're not able to do that right now so we're cheering each other."

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Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira