COVID-19 Colorado Dial Update & Open Industry Forums 11/19!

18 Nov COVID-19 Colorado Dial Update & Open Industry Forums 11/19!

Colorado Adds Safer at Home Level Red to Dial Framework, Public Health hosts industry forums to discuss regulations.

Positive COVID cases continue to spread throughout San Miguel County with no signs of slowing down. Urgent mitigation plan enacted. For up-to-date coronavirus information visit here. For more information surrounding the state’s COVID-19 dial, visit here.

Grace Franklin, County Public Health Director.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Office of the Governor announced a new level on the Colorado COVID Dial Safer at Home Level Red: Severe Risk today. As the pandemic continues to infect Coloradans at record frequency, this level works to keep the Colorado economy afloat while aggressively reducing transmission rates.

“Most Coloradans are doing our part, people are wearing masks, people are staying home when they can,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis during a press conference. “But the truth is, seeing this exponential growth that we’re experiencing, we clearly need a more drastic shift in behavior to further slow the transmission of the virus and prevent this exponential growth curve from simply overwhelming our ability to take care of people who are sick.”

As the COVID Dial framework is expanded and regulations are increased across the state, San Miguel County Public Health will host six virtual open forums on Thursday, November 19 to discuss Level Orange, the State levels and how various industries should approach changes in business practices to accommodate changes and prepare for potential increased rollbacks.

The schedule for November 19 is as follows:

12 pm to 12:50 pm – Offices
1 pm to 1:50 pm – Retail
2 pm to 2:50 pm – Gyms, Recreation, Sports
3 pm to 3:50 pm – Restaurants, Bars, Coffee Shops
4 pm to 4:50 pm – Lodging
5 pm to 5:50 pm – Places of Worship

The format of these open meetings includes an overview of current restrictions by Public Health Director Grace Franklin, an open discussion surrounding how to approach COVID Dial levels should they change and a period of time for questions.

“In order to have a successful winter season, our communities and businesses must work hard now to tighten behavior,” said Franklin. “These open forums will give our stakeholders, our local businesses, an opportunity to have an open discussion surrounding their strategies.”

These meetings are open to business owners in each of the listed industries. For questions regarding which forum to attend, please email publichealth@sanmiguelcountyco.gov. The Zoom meeting ID is 834 5443 2531 and the password is 010 336 with each forum lasting exactly 50 minutes. Each forum will be recorded and distributed on the San Miguel County website and via industry newsletters through San Miguel County.

Public Health has confirmed nine new positive cases of COVID-19 from test results received between November 13 and 16. All nine cases are residents. Additionally, seventeen new positive cases were confirmed during National Guard testing on Thursday, November 12. These tests include ten residents and seven non-residents. At this time, all positive cases have been contacted and are currently in isolation. There have been 164 total COVID cases among residents to date with 27 active cases. These cases were results of travel, household, community or social spread.

To learn more about the County’s current COVID-19 metrics, please visit the County COVID-19 dashboard.

Positive COVID-19 test results from Friday, November 13 through Monday, November 16 include:

60-year-old male, resident, asymptomatic, community exposure
56-year-old female, resident, asymptomatic, social exposure
34-year-old female, resident, symptomatic, household exposure
32-year-old male, resident, symptomatic, workplace exposure
27-year-old female, resident, symptomatic, household exposure
27-year-old male, resident, symptomatic, social exposure
23-year-old female, resident, symptomatic, travel exposure
8-year-old female, resident, asymptomatic, community exposure
7-year-old male, resident, asymptomatic, community exposure

Positive COVID-19 test results from National Guard testing on Thursday, November 12 include:

Residents:

69-year-old female, asymptomatic, community exposure
62-year-old male, symptomatic, travel exposure
46-year-old female, asymptomatic, workplace exposure
42-year-old male, symptomatic, community exposure
41-year-old female, symptomatic, social exposure
40-year-old female, asymptomatic, social exposure
25-year-old male, asymptomatic, community exposure
25-year-old male, asymptomatic, travel exposure
23-year-old female, symptomatic, community exposure
16-year-old female, asymptomatic, household exposure

Non-residents:

69-year-old female, symptoms unknown, exposure unknown
61-year-old female, symptoms unknown, exposure unknown
49-year-old male, symptoms unknown, exposure unknown
48-year-old female, symptomatic, household exposure
46-year-old male, symptomatic, community exposure
44-year-old female, symptoms unknown, exposure unknown
30-year-old male, symptoms unknown, exposure unknown

San Miguel County will continue posting caseload updates twice a week. The next update will be published on Tuesday, November 17.

Five Commitments of Containment:

Wear a mask
Maintain six feet of physical distance
Minimize group size
Wash hands frequently
Stay home when sick and get tested