Sutter Santa Rosa orders coronavirus quarantine for 30 workers

Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital issued quarantine orders to at least 30 of its hospital workers who came in contact with a patient with coronavirus, according to the union representing most front-line hospital staff.

The employees were sent home Thursday, the same day Sonoma County public health officials announced a second confirmed case of coronavirus from a local resident seeking care at an undisclosed Santa Rosa hospital.

The quarantine order for 30 staff members appears to be the largest to be publicly reported in California, Sean Wherley, spokesman with SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, said.

Asked by the Press Democrat about the quarantine orders, Sutter health officials said they will provide a response Thursday.

The number of workers sent home could be higher since the union doesn’t represent doctors or nurse practitioners, he said. At least 10 health care workers were taken off the job Feb. 27 at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View and Los Gatos. Another 10 workers from Kaiser Permanente in Roseville were isolated Wednesday. Two workers from Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles were quarantined Tuesday.

Wherley said he had no details about the circumstances of the quarantine in Santa Rosa.

“Hospital executives need to collaborate with employees to understand the circumstances: are there supplies in place? What’s the protocol?” Wherley said. “Workers need to be trained before a patient comes in.”

The union represents 365 workers at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital.