CALEXICO — Pioneers Health Center in Calexico was to reopen on Wednesday morning, Nov. 18, after being closed for several days following the discovery that six clinic staffers tested positive for COVID, a Pioneers spokesperson said.
Although it wasn’t available precisely what day the clinic at 450 E. Birch St. closed, county Public Health officials initiated the temporary closure after one symptomatic employee tested positive for the virus, spokesperson Karina Lopez said Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 17.
All employees of the clinic were tested and an additional five came back positive for the virus. Of the five, most showed no symptoms and the others had only minor symptoms, Lopez said.
Meanwhile, all in-person visits were halted but telemedicine appointments for Calexico-area patients continued, the spokesperson added. The facility was sanitized by Pioneers staff per U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
The six infected employees are still under isolation, and the rest of the employees who tested negative were retested, Lopez said. The Public Health Department approved the reopening earlier in the day Nov. 17, she added.
The clinic was to reopen at 8 a.m. Nov. 18 and resume normal operating hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
Calexico has been the hardest-hit community in the county for cases of COVID, with a total of 4,444 cases, 240 active cases, and 121 deaths as of Nov. 17, the highest for any local zip code.
The largest community in the Valley without its own hospital, Calexico has seen a previous outbreak close its Clinicas De Salud Del Pueblo location during the height of the first wave of cases.
