A cluster of COVID-19 cases has popped up at an East Bay hospital.
Thirty-seven staff members at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward have tested positive for the disease, doing so late last month. The cases are mostly among nurses and technicians who work in the Medical Surgical Telemetry Unit at the facility.
"All the individuals have been quarantined according to (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines upon testing positive and approximately half of the impacted employees are now safe to return to work," St. Rose Hospital Spokesperson Sam Singer said.
About half of the infected staff have already been cleared to return to work.
The hospital is now following county health department safety recommendations to further protect both patients and staff.
"We are providing additional education and training to staff on PPE and COVID prevention measures and the hospital has been (doing) and will continue COVID-19 testing," Singer said.
Singer said the hospital has what he describes as "an adequate supply of personal protective equipment" and continues to operate and accept new patients.
It's unclear how the outbreak started.
Singer said there is no evidence that the virus was transmitted from a patient to a staff member.
