COVID-19 Update
December 16, 2020
Hello Morgan Hill Community.
 
We wanted to provide you with the most recent COVID-19 updates from the County of Santa Clara. We thank you for all that you are doing to follow and adhere to the State's Regional Stay Home Order and sincerely appreciate your efforts to refrain from traveling and gathering with those outside your household during this holiday season.
 
DePaul Health Center
DePaul Health Center temporarily opened yesterday December 15, for the purpose of providing care for non-acute step-down patients during the current COVID-19 surge. Areas of the Center have been temporarily activated while the renovation plan is still ongoing.
 
DePaul Health Center’s renovation plans include both a Skilled Nursing Facility and an expanded Urgent Care Clinic. These units are separate, and the Urgent Care Clinic will be in the space of the former Emergency Department.  The plan is to license DePaul Health Center as a Skilled Nursing Facility with certification to provide subacute care.  Generally, subacute care is comprehensive inpatient care designed for persons with chronic acute illness, injury, or exacerbation of a disease process.  An example would be a person who needs chronic ventilatory support.  
 
There are no plans to provide any acute hospital or ICU level of care at this facility.
 
First Doses of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Arrives in Santa Clara County
The County of Santa Clara received its first 5,850 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine yesterday, providing a glimmer of hope in the long fight to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community. This delivery is the first of the initial 17,550 doses allocated to Santa Clara County by the State of California, 230 of which will go to San Benito County per the state’s direction. The remaining doses in the allocation will ship from the manufacturer directly to hospitals around the County and are expected to arrive later this week. These early doses will be for people in the highest risk categories, as set by the state and federal government. This includes front line healthcare workers at acute care hospitals, as well as residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities.
 
Although the arrival of a small number of vaccines across the state and the county brings much hope, we remain in the most dangerous phase of the pandemic, with COVID-19 spreading rapidly throughout the county, the state, and across the country. It is critical that all county residents continue to wear masks, not gather with others, continue to socially distance from anyone outside their household, and stay home as much as possible.

Bay Area Health Officers Announce That COVID-19 Vaccine Will be Distributed Following Federal, State Framework
 
New Quarantine Guidance Shortens Length of Quarantine from 14 Days to 10 Days
The County of Santa Clara has released new COVID-19 quarantine guidance, which shortens the length of quarantine from 14 days to 10 days for close contacts of persons with COVID-19 and those subject to the mandatory travel quarantine. However, despite the shortened quarantine period, individuals should continue monitoring for symptoms for a full 14 days. The new recommendations were released on Monday and align with the California Department of Public Health’s new guidance. View the full press release.
 
We again thank you for all you are doing during this difficult time and encourage you to stay the course. We will stop the spread by continuing to wear masks, not gathering with others, continuing to socially distance from anyone outside our households, and staying home as much as possible.
 
We all must do our part. Stay home! Save Lives!

Morgan Hill residents with non-emergency questions or concerns are directed to call or text 408.767.6404. This number is monitored regularly, Monday - Friday, during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Messages will be responded to within 24 hours, during weekdays.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to:

Information and resources are being continually updated on the following websites:

Santa Clara County residents should call 2-1-1 for public health information on COVID-19. Please be aware that you may need to remain on hold for a period of time.

Follow updates on the City of Morgan Hill’s website and on FacebookTwitterInstagram, and Nextdoor.
City of Morgan Hill | www.morganhill.ca.gov