SM County: State & Federal Health Officials Move To Routine Disease Management of COVID!

03 Mar SM County: State & Federal Health Officials Move To Routine Disease Management of COVID!

San Miguel County Public Health puts out the word: Public Health opens survey to understand future needs and areas of improvement for COVID response. With this turning point in the pandemic, San Miguel County Public Health has opened an anonymous 10-question survey to measure the value and efficacy of the department’s COVID response, service and data to-date and assess future needs and areas of improvement. The survey will close at midnight MST on Friday, April 1, 2022.

For the most up-to-date schedule of vaccine clinics, visit the vacine page on the county COVID website.

For up-to-date coronavirus information, visit here.

For free coronavirus testing opportunities, visit here.

For all Covid blogs from San Miguel County, go here.

San Miguel CountyHybrid

Last week, state health officials presented a “roadmap” to the next chapter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado. This plan integrates COVID into routine disease management, a standard function of public health, while establishing response plans for future surges and high-risk settings.

“Public Health will work methodically to analyze our COVID response and our focused, local path forward,” said Public Health Director Grace Franklin. “As we observe trends throughout the country, our team will work quickly with the state to ramp up testing, vaccine clinics, regional hospital capacity and treatment availability as needed.”

This week, availability will change as the state begins to reduce testing capacity across Colorado, including current Microgen community testing sites in San Miguel County. Public Health will continue to offer free COVID testing weekly in Telluride and
Mountain Village:

• Tuesdays – 10 to 11 am – Telluride, Depot Building, 300 S Townsend St -PCR and Rapid NAAT Molecular COVID Tests

• Wednesdays – 11 am to 12 pm – Mountain Village, outside in the plaza adjacent to the Blue Mesa Bus stop off Mountain Village Blvd. – PCR COVID test

• Thursdays – 10 to 11 am – Telluride, Depot Building, 300 S Townsend St – PCR and Rapid NAAT Molecular COVID Tests

With confidence in the combined infection and vaccination-based immunity, precautionary measures and personal accountability, the county will follow updated state and federal guidance to scale pandemic response based on demand and adjust accordingly.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidance and is no longer recommending universal case investigation and contact tracing for COVID-19. While these tools remain recommended for specific settings and populations at increased risk for adverse outcomes, this approach focuses more on outbreak response and working closely with organizations to tap into public health resources to limit large-scale transmission and severe health outcomes. Surveillance and funding will remain in place to ensure response to any future increase in COVID prevalence is timely and thorough.

“Public Health is proud to have served San Miguel County throughout the last two years of the pandemic,” said Director Franklin. “While we establish a path forward for our local pandemic response, we are energized by the opportunity to learn more about how we can effectively address the needs of our community beyond COVID.”

Power The Comeback:

Crowded places, covered faces
Get vaccinated
Stay home when sick and get tested