A second patient at Laguna Honda Hospital has tested positive for novel coronavirus, city officials said Sunday.
The tally of confirmed cases is now seven staff members and two patients and all are in good condition. Five of the staff provide patient care and two do not, officials said.
“Contact investigations are underway, including testing, and the units have been quarantined,” the Department of Public Health said, adding that an investigation of possible contacts of the confirmed cases is being conducted.
The hospital has been under a protective quarantine order issued by the city on Wednesday. The first patient tested positive on Thursday, leading the Department of Public Health to expect an outbreak at the long-term care facility of about 750 patients.
“I must say, and I am sad to say this, that we do expect an outbreak,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Department of Public Health director, at a press conference on Friday. “Unfortunately this was not a surprise. The pattern of the disease clearly shows that long-term care facilities and their residents are particularly vulnerable to the disease and the spread.”
Additional resources from the Department of Public Health, University of California at San Francisco and Sutter Health “are being deployed to strengthen the response.”
Five people have died from coronavirus among 340 cases in San Francisco as of Sunday morning.
Ida Mojadad contributed to this report.
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