SM County: Move to Level Yellow Monday, March 1

26 Feb SM County: Move to Level Yellow Monday, March 1

San Miguel County bifurcation to end as data supports Level Orange Friday, Level Yellow Monday.

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Grace Franklin, County Public Health Director.

Effective at 1 am MST on Friday, February 26, San Miguel County’s East End has moved into Level Orange, ending the county bifurcation.

Thursday morning, February 4, San Miguel County Public Health received over 400 outstanding test results from last week’s test clinics that had been delayed due to weather. Fewer than 20 new known positive cases occurred from this batch. These metrics, supplemented by continued, robust testing, confirm the downward case trend also seen in wastewater COVID testing. This decrease in positive cases supports the recommendation from Public Health and the Board of Health to further reduce COVID restrictions to Level Yellow effective at 1 am on Monday, March 1, pending state approval.

Public Health has received confirmation that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is currently validating metrics and will confirm the county’s dial status shift on Saturday evening for the change on Monday.

“Though cases are trending downward, it is important that we keep our guard up,” said Public Health Director Grace Franklin. “Knowing how quickly these surges can manifest along with the reality that spring break visitation increases are expected, and more contagious variants have started to spread throughout the U.S., I urge residents and visitors to continue to rely on safety measures to sustain low numbers.”

Public Health will continue to test for variants in both point of care and wastewater COVID testing in order to ensure a quick and efficient response should a Variant of Concern be detected. Honoring the five commitments of containment is the most effective way to protect oneself and others. These commitments include wearing a face covering, maintaining six feet of distance, washing hands frequently and staying home and getting tested when sick.

Level Yellow will go into effect at 1 am MST on Monday, March 1 for the entirety of San Miguel County. Some major changes are as follows:

• Gatherings: Public and private gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people from no more than two households. This includes, but is not limited to personal residences, private clubs and lounges, real estate home showings or open houses, lodging and other spaces.
• Restaurants: 50% capacity or 50 people, whichever is fewer. Last call for food and alcohol will be 11 pm MST.
• Lodging: Per Lodging Appendix A, monthly occupancy is limited to no more than 75% for daily and monthly capacity. Occupancy is subject to restrictions for personal gatherings limiting to no more than ten people from no more than two households per lodging unit.
• Gyms & Fitness: 50% capacity or 50 people, whichever is fewer. Mask mandate will continue to remain in place requiring masks to be worn indoors at all times.

For more information regarding COVID restrictions in Level Yellow, refer to the CDPHE COVID Dial Dashboard here.

Public Health has confirmed 16 new positive cases of COVID-19 from test results received from February 23 through 25. Of these cases, all eight positives are from samples taken last week that were delayed due to shipping delays and complications at the testing labs due to a severe weather event. Eight are from samples taken at clinics throughout the week this week. Of these cases, 12 are confirmed as residents and all actively contagious cases are currently in isolation.

As of this release, there have been 819 total COVID cases among residents to date with 14 active cases.

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

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