06 Feb Decrease in State Disease Prevalence/Hospitalizations!
San Miguel County to remain in Level Orange due to sustained community spread.
The state has announced several modifications to the COVID-19 Dial Framework, Dial 2.0, in effect as of Saturday, February 6 at 9 am MST. The adjustments include a change in metrics and the threshold necessary to move between levels on the dial.
“Dial 2.0 is designed so that counties can swiftly move into more restrictive levels when their numbers go up, and more quickly into recovery when their numbers go down,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, CDPHE Executive Director, in a press release. “Input from our partners helped us tailor the new dial to best serve the needs of Coloradans at the local level. Since the dial’s last major change in November, Colorado has begun distributing COVID-19 vaccines throughout the state. More people now have immunity to COVID-19, including people over 70 and frontline health care workers. This relieves the strain on our hospital system.”
The changes from Dial 1.0 to 2.0 are being implemented as vaccinations begin protecting a portion of the population, decreasing hospitalization rate. Additionally, this change occurs as the state sees a decrease in COVID-19 incidence and positivity overall.
The range of incidence metrics in Dial 2.0 reflect disease suppression and a stimulation of economic activity. The metrics will move from a 14-day measurement period to a 7-day period to allow counties to move more swiftly between levels to respond to notable increases or decreases in disease prevalence.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the new metrics for Dial 2.0 are as follows:
• Counties in Level Green must now have no more than 15 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in one week OR a comparable number of cases in counties with under 20,000 people.
• Counties in Level Blue must now have between 15 and 100 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in one week.
• Counties in Level Yellow must now have between 100 and 300 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in one week. The rate of positive tests must be no more than 7.5%.
• Counties in Level Orange must now have between 300 and 500 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in one week. The rate of positive tests must be no more than 10%.
• Counties in Level Red will now have more than 501 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in one week. At this level, hospital system capacity is constrained, and state assistance is requested for patient transport or staff augmentation.
• In counties at Level Purple, statewide hospital capacity risks being breached, and crisis standards of care are approaching.
School settings do not change in Dial 2.0. Capacity limits will remain the same with a slight modification to restaurants in Level Yellow, which may now have up to 150 people when using the social distancing calculator.
Many counties across the state will see a decrease in their restriction level on the dial given this shift in metrics. San Miguel County currently has an incidence rate of 1,542 and positivity rate of 6.3%, While hospitalization rates remain manageable, this places the county in the revised Level Orange of the dial. The CDPHE is encouraging additional mitigation techniques to continue to curb record spread of COVID-19 throughout the county.
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
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