July 6, 2022
Good afternoon, Residents and Families,
Today we learned that three staff members have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. One is a caregiver who works in our Goldberg Healthcare Center. Another is a member of our Building Services Department. The third, is a team member who works in Assisted Living. All three employees last worked July 4th and are symptomatic and we wish them a speedy recovery.
All visitors must receive a rapid test before visiting. Visitors with reservations to see loved ones in our Goldberg Healthcare Center, need to first check-in at the entrance lobby of that building, and visitors to all other buildings, need to first check-in at our main reception desk off Saxony Lane. If you have recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or have symptoms, we respectfully ask that you postpone your visit. Reservations are required in advance to visit loved ones in our Katzin Residence and the Goldberg Healthcare Center.
An article in the San Diego Union Tribune dated July 5 states, “The latest development upending the pandemic landscape is the growing dominance of two subvariants — BA.5 and, to a lesser degree, BA.4 that not only are ultra-contagious but have shown the ability to reinfect those who contracted earlier Omicron strains. This combination of initial and recurring infectivity carries enormous implications.”
The article further quotes Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of UCSF’s Dept. of Medicine, who states, “Among the biggest repercussions of the BA.5 is that prior infections, including an Omicron infection as recent as last month, no longer provides robust protection from reinfection. That old saw about hybrid immunity (vax plus infection) providing ‘immunity power,’ and thus no need to be careful, is no longer true. We are seeing such folks get reinfected within 1-2 months.”
We appreciate your ongoing patience and support as we get through this latest COVID-19 surge. Please be careful, everyone, and wear your masks whenever possible, especially when inside public spaces.
Best regards,
Pam Ferris
President and CEO
The Melvin Garb Foundation Presidential Chair