Sources with knowledge of the matter tell NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit that San Francisco public health officials shut down a mental health clinic in the Ingleside District where several staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
The now closed clinic, the OMI Family Center, has signs on the door saying it has closed due “unforeseen circumstances” without mentioning the coronavirus.
But sources tell the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit that a therapist and two staff members tested positive this week and at least one security guard is under quarantine.
The facility refers callers to a hotline run by the Mental Health Association of San Francisco.
“There is a peer counseling line that’s available to people if they need to talk to someone amidst this,” said Mark Salazar, the association’’s executive director.
Salazar says his group is taking over mental health counseling for the center as a stopgap because his peer advisors are not licensed therapists. He said although he can’t say for sure what happened at OMI, he’s been in contact with city public health officials and is confident they made the right move with the shutdown.
“That’s the best way to put it, I think, the more abundance of caution than anything,” Salazar said. City officials did not respond to questions about test results or any quarantine.
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The city would only say some staff members are working out of another mental health building during the closure and they expect OMI to reopen soon.
