Along with fireworks, Chaffee County experienced an unwanted increase of four new cases of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 on July Fourth.
Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) nurse Emily Anderson, R.N., said one of the positive cases had not been in the state recently, but the other three were in Chaffee County when they became symptomatic.
That is not good news, given the county’s stable virus situation of late.
“These three cases strongly suggest that Chaffee County is experiencing some level of community transmission of COVID-19 cases,” Anderson explained. The new infected cases include one pediatric case, as well as a 24 year-old male, a 26 year-old male and a 53 year-old male. These age brackets align with many of the visitors to our county this holiday weekend.
“The positive cases and family members are in isolation, and contact tracing and exposure notification has begun,” Anderson said.
Per Anderson, one other recent case, a female Chaffee County Detention Center inmate has been transferred per bond conditions to a specific residence on the Front Range. So the case was transferred to that county.
A microscopic image of the COVID-19 virus. Image courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Laboratories of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“The positive cases and family members are in isolation, and contact tracing and exposure notification has begun,” said Anderson.
She added that all close contacts of the positive cases will receive a phone call from a CCPH nurse and be asked to follow isolation and quarantine guidelines. Close contacts will also be asked to get a COVID-19 test at the Community Testing Clinic on July 7th, or sooner, with their primary care physician.
When a resident tests positive, CCPH staff will ask them to provide a list of close contacts from 48 hours before becoming symptomatic until the current time. Contact tracing is essential to stopping the further transmission of disease.
“COVID-19 cases are spiking around the country, especially in neighboring states. And with the influx of visitors during the holiday weekend, it is possible we will see a sharp increase of COVID-19 cases in Chaffee County,” said Anderson. “It is each of our personal responsibility to take this seriously. Wear your mask, wash your hands, maintain physical distance, continue to keep your social circle small, and if you have underlying medical conditions it’s safest to stay home. That is the only way to keep our county safe and open,”
Anderson added that CCPH tested 42 residents at the Community Testing Clinic at Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center on June 30th. 40 of the 42 results have come back negative. Results are pending on two other tests.
Editor note: The New York Times’ Interactive State Map and Case Count shows the following number of NEW cases since Monday June 30 (as of mid-day July 4th):
State New Cases New Fatalities
TX 31,656 186
AZ 19,965 219
OK 2,473 13
CO 1,112 19
Featured image: Drive up testing June 30 at Heart of the Rockies Medical Regional Medical Center. Dan Smith photo
Recent Comments