COVID-19 outbreaks infect more than 230 people at two San Jose nursing homes - The Mercury News

SAN JOSE — With COVID-19 cases in California surging to new levels, Bay Area nursing homes and homeless centers have been slammed hard with frighteningly large outbreaks.

Two San Jose nursing facilities have a combined 232 COVID cases and Santa Clara County saw its first major outbreak at a homeless shelter, where 60 people have been infected since Nov.

One facility, Westwood Post-Acute, which was formerly Amberwood Gardens, had 151 total confirmed COVID cases as of Wednesday, according to Santa Clara County officials.

The other facility, Skyline Healthcare Center, had 86 total positive cases as of Wednesday — 66 residents and 20 health care workers.

While Westwood’s 258-bed facility avoided a COVID outbreak for several months under a mitigation plan approved by the state, that all changed amid the statewide surge and it currently has 56 residents and 10 employees confirmed positive for the virus, according to a company statement.

“We’ve recently had an outbreak at one of our homeless shelters and this is actually the first major outbreak in a homeless shelter in Santa Clara County since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Dr.

At the Boccardo Reception Center, an emergency shelter in San Jose, 60 cases have been confirmed since Nov.

Another homeless shelter in San Jose, South Hall, reported a total of seven cases since Nov.

Han said county officials are also keeping an eye on the cluster of cases at South Hall to ensure it “doesn’t turn into an outbreak situation.”.

What is clear, however, is that as cases in the broader community rise, so too do those in congregate care settings such as homeless shelters and skilled nursing facilities.