Yuba-Sutter Health Officials Link 20 COVID-19 Cases To Manufacturing Plant Outbreak
YUBA-SUTTER (CBS13) — Yuba-Sutter Public Health officials have identified a coronavirus outbreak at a manufacturing plant.
The county says currently five employees at the plant are infected, and at least 15 family members have also contracted the virus. Officials would not identify the workplace.
Public health officials say a recent spike in confirmed cases has been caused by people attending social gatherings while symptomatic and not practicing safety guidelines. According to the health department, the rise in cases has led to an increase in hospitalizations, including one linked to the outbreak at a manufacturing plant.
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Previously, officials said coronavirus cases fell into separate categories: "household contacts of confirmed cases; people attending social gatherings and not adhering to the tenets in place; and previous "essential" businesses that had not put into place strict COVID-19 protocols." But now they say those categories are converging and people are getting infected at social gatherings and spreading the virus to their workplace, where coworkers bring it home to their families.
As of Tuesday evening, there were 265 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Yuba-Sutter region, 208 of which were symptomatic. According to the county website, five people are currently hospitalized. Yuba-Sutter Health Officer Dr. Phuong Luu said in a press release Wednesday that the trend may lead to more deaths.
The number of average cases has greatly increased since mid-April when the counties were seeing an average of one case every two days. According to the press release, since June 22, there is an average of 15 positive cases per day.
Officials have not rolled back any reopenings or imposed new guidelines, but urge residents to practice social distancing, wear face coverings, stay home when they are sick with any symptoms, wash hands often, and avoid touching your face or eyes.
The Yuba-Sutter region was one of the first to reopen retail stores and restaurants for dine-in services despite statewide stay-at-home orders.