Two coronavirus deaths linked to residents of Sonoma senior nursing center

A man who had lived at senior nursing center Broadway Villa Post Acute in Sonoma, and tested positive for COVID-19, is among the county’s two most recent of seven fatalities linked to the new coronavirus.

He was over 65, had underlying health conditions and died on Sunday at a local hospital, two days after being transferred there, Sonoma County health officials said.

The man is the second Broadway Villa resident to die after contracting the virus, the nursing center’s administrator Mike Empey said Tuesday, during a brief interview on the property.

The 144-bed Sonoma skilled nursing facility had reported the death of its first resident on June 22, according to state public health records. That person also was a man over 65 and in poor health man. He was taken to an unidentified local hospital on June 20 before dying the following day, county health officials said.

In addition to the deaths, California Department of Public Health records online show Broadway Villa has 15 residents stricken by the virus as of Monday, the latest data available. Thus far, the nursing center has had 18 residents and at least two staff members infected by the contagion.

The outbreak at the skilled nursing facility is the latest local fallout of the highly contagious pathogen, which has infected more than 1,100 county residents. With cases sharply increasing the past couple of weeks as much of business and industry has reopened, local, state and national health officials are again bracing for a potential surge of even more COVID-19 infections, and more deaths.

In perhaps her most sobering outlook since late May when she halted business reopenings for two weeks, Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said Tuesday it may not be possible to prevent further increases of virus infections in the county, but a surge of COVID-19 transmission could be blunted just as it was several months ago by quick action.

“I think everywhere, we're going to see some kind of surge, it’s just a matter of whether we're prepared for it or not,” Mase said. “Sadly our numbers are going up and our hospital partners and others are realizing that we need to start preparing again.”

On Tuesday, California surpassed 6,000 coronavirus-related deaths and 231,000 cases, even as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, warned the nation soon would be flooded with new cases, possibly 100,000 in a day, if Americans don’t do a better job wearing masks and staying out of large crowds.

Mase echoed those concerns and stressed the importance of such public health measures to avoid returning to the broad restrictions she implemented March 18. Her unprecedented emergency action then closed most businesses until she allowed them to gradually reopen last month, and devastated the county economy. Although certain people are being recalled to work, the economic malaise could linger for months.

Mase said she thinks the “targeted approach“ county public health workers are taking to address viral outbreaks in places such as senior living facilities, businesses and certain households will continue to result in a slower increase in cases compared with other parts of the country.

Local public health officials, she said, have recently begun doing “observational visits” to area skilled nursing centers to evaluate infection control measures, including how many patients are in a single room and whether it’s possible to separate COVID-19-positive residents from others.

Skilled nursing centers are required to report to the state within 24 hours confirmed COVID-19 infections and the deaths of residents who have been diagnosed with or suspected of having the coronavirus. The same reporting requirement applies to staff members, as well.

Besides the fatality linked to the Sonoma facility, there have been no other virus-related deaths at skilled nursing centers in Sonoma County as of Monday, according to state public health data.

The additional death Mase revealed Monday connected with COVID-19 involved a woman over 65 with underlying health conditions. She died Monday at the residential care facility where she had been a resident, local health officials said.

Citing federal patient privacy laws, Mase on Tuesday again declined to identify the two people who died this week, where they died or disclose any information about how, where and when they contracted the highly contagious infectious disease.

Empey declined to comment further about the virus outbreak at Broadway Villa or circumstances of the two deaths of residents. He referred those questions to Ensign Group, of San Juan Capistrano, a large U.S. operator of skilled nursing and rehabilitative care that runs the Sonoma facility. A Press Democrat reporter contacted Ensign on Tuesday, but got no immediate reply.

Earlier coronavirus-related deaths in Sonoma County occurred May 11, May 3, April 10 and March 20, and all involved older people in poor health, county health officials said.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.