Two health care workers at UC San Francisco have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, according to school officials.
According to UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, they are the first in the system to test positive, but they’re not likely to be the last.
Both patients are in self-quarantine now, and it is believed by UCSF officials that they both were infected somewhere in the community and outside the workplace, not at one of the hospitals or other UCSF facilities. Officials are still working to confirm that.
UCSF is tracking down everyone who came into contact with these two people, including patients, nurses, staff, and clinicians, who are all being notified. They are then being told to monitor themselves to see if they develop symptoms, or if they already have symptoms, they will be tested.
In a statement from UCSF, it said, “We are taking every precaution to minimize the risk to other health care workers and patients, and we remain confident in the safety precautions our health care providers are taking,”
The health system has the capability to perform about 75 coronavirus tests per day, and are also enacting additional precautions for essential employees who can’t work from home.
The two health care workers are currently unidentified, and we are not being told which facilities they work at.
399 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in California, including 227 in the Bay Area.
