July 29, 2021 News Release: Tulare CountyTulare County Health & Human Services Agency Announces Closure of Child Welfare Services Location and Call Center Due to COVID-19
The Human Services Branch of the Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA) confirms that multiple public employees at the Tulare County Child Welfare Services, Hyde Suite A, located at 3500 W. Mineral King St. in Visalia and at the Call Center located at 26644 S. Mooney Blvd. in Visalia have tested positive for COVID-19. The buildings closed effective July 22, 2021, and all employees were advised to remain home until the buildings were sanitized and the contact tracing was completed.
The County has instructed all employees during this time that they should not come to work if they show any symptoms of illness. The Agency closed the locations for a 7-day period for cleaning and notified all members of its workforce with whom the infected employees may have had potential contact. It is not unexpected that employees may become ill as COVID-19 continues spreading throughout the community. The HHSA has protocols in place to address this and similar situations involving employees who become ill. These protocols include: asking employees to stay home if they show any symptoms, reporting any symptoms that develop during working hours, asking non-essential employees to work from home, maintaining sufficient social distancing in the workplace, and consistently using excellent hygiene and cleaning practices.
The Tulare County Child Welfare Services, Hyde Suite A will reopen on Monday, August 2, 2021.The Call Center will reopen on Thursday, August 5, 2021. Both locations will reopen at their normal business hours.
The Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency is diligent about the protection of patient privacy, in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and for this reason we cannot release any other information about the affected employees. The information released about the positive COVID-19 cases in Tulare County is carefully curated to provide useful information to our community members, while also excluding information that would lead to the identification of affected persons. This is a protection, provided by law, that is extended to everyone.
For more information about COVID-19, visit www.tchhsa.org/ncov and www.covid19.tularecounty.ca.gov
