2 more nursing home outbreaks hit Tulare County amid largest weekly COVID-19 jump

The novel coronavirus has infiltrated two more nursing homes in Tulare County, propelling the county's largest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases to date.

Tulare County health officials reported 58 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the county's total to 916 — one day after the single largest daily spike of 101 new cases. On a brighter note, COVID-19 related deaths are down and the county's hospital surge capacity remains high, officials said.

The county's positive rate is 17% based on more than 4,000 tests performed. This week marked the sharpest increase in overall coronavirus cases as health officials fear the county's curve may again be trending up.

Dozens of new cases are attributable to outbreaks at five skilled nursing facilities across the county, including two new clusters of 22 cases at Dinuba Healthcare and 20 cases at Porterville's Sierra Valley.

Image

Lindsay Gardens in Lindsay on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. Ron Holman

The number of cases at Lindsay Gardens has also doubled over the last week to 99 cases. Redwood Springs, home to one of California's largest nursing home outbreaks, surpassed 200 cases on Tuesday.

Nursing home cases total 358 in Tulare County, officials said.

"Clearly, skilled nursing facilities skew our numbers to a fairly significant amount," said Tim Lutz, Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency director.

Ruiz Foods represents another significant outbreak, with 107 cases between its Tulare and Dinuba production facilities, Lutz said. More than half of all the employees tested returned a positive diagnosis over the weekend.

Lutz told supervisors that nursing home outbreaks could delay any potential reopening of Tulare County's economy under the governor's phased plan proposal.

California Governor's Office of Emergency Services is tentatively requiring each county to have a 14-day PPE supply for vulnerable facilities, including nursing homes, before moving ahead with the next phase of reopenings, Lutz said.

Image

Ruiz Foods stopped some production lines at its Dinuba and Tulare facilities due to several employees testing positive for COVID-19. Sheyanne N Romero

Tulare County Chairman Pete Vander Poel said he wanted to be "the first county to open" while ensuring that the county's plan is "protective of our vulnerable populations," he said.

"What we've done as a state and country is shut down everyone," he said. "It’s important to protect those who are most vulnerable because this is very serious, but we need to get (the economy) open."

Supervisor Amy Shuklian underscored the importance of local business but said the county’s plan should have contingencies in the unfortunate event of a spike.

"I hope we don't have to do that but that needs to be part of the plan," she said.

The board could pass a plan to begin phasing Tulare County's economy back in action as soon as an emergency Friday meeting.