Sponges and swabs were evaluated for their ability to recover Candida auris dried 1 hour on steel and plastic surfaces. Culture recovery ranged from <0.1% (sponges) to 8.4% (swabs), and cells detected with an esterase activity assay revealed >50% recovery (swabs), indicating that cells may enter a viable but nonculturable state.

We observed a higher rate of blood-culture contamination during the COVID-19 pandemic at our institution compared to a prepandemic period. Given the potential implications of blood contamination in antibiotic and diagnostic test utilization as well as added cost, it is imperative to continue efforts to minimize these episodes during the pandemic.

An outbreak of serotype 19A Streptococcus pneumoniae occurred among the residents of a relief facility. Pneumonia developed in 5 of 99 residents (attack rate, 5.1%). We obtained pharyngeal specimens from non-onset residents, and S. pneumoniae was isolated from 6 individuals (6.4%), 5 of whom had serotype 19A.

In this study, we compared the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) between clinical and nonclinical healthcare workers (HCWs) while adjusting for home ZIP codes. Clinical HCWs did not have a higher risk of COVID-19, but living in higher-risk ZIP codes was associated with increased infection rates. However, environmental services workers showed increased risk of COVID-19.

We evaluated the ability of an ultraviolet-C (UV-C) room decontamination device to kill Candida auris and C. albicans. With an organic challenge (fetal calf serum), the UV-C device demonstrated the following log10 reductions for C. auris of 4.57 and for C. albicans of 5.26 with direct line of sight, and log10 reductions for C. auris of 2.41 and for C. ablicans of 3.96 with indirect line of sight.