Has Chaffee County begun the long-foretold COVID-19 fall surge? As the number of COVID-19 cases rises, officials and county leaders are becoming concerned. The county has seen 19 cases in 14 days; in family groups, clusters, and single cases.
To be able to stay in the current Level 2 “Safer at Home” phase in which Chaffee County now qualifies, it has to keep control of COVID-19 cases: It can’t go beyond 15-35 new cases in 14 days. “We are creeping toward this,” said Chaffee Director of Public Health Andrea Carlstrom.
The message is clear in Buena Vista and bolstered by the state mandate concerning COVID-19: Please wear your mask.
Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) reports that the county’s positivity rate of 1.34 percent [of the population] at the beginning of September has nearly doubled and now sits at 2.44 percent. COVID-19 community spread cases since the start of the pandemic total 73 (minus the outbreak at the Buena Vista Department of corrections). Since the battle against COVID-19 began last spring, public health officials have said that the county needs to keep its positivity rate below 3 percent to not overwhelm our medical resources.
The county hasn’t seen this kind of rise in cases since April and May. Why the surge, why now, and why focused on the north end of the county?
There may be a number of reasons for the cases rising. Among them: pandemic weariness, the fact that schools are back to in-person classes, higher visitor loads at our resorts, and careless behavior by residents.
The north end of Chaffee has seen many more COVID-19 cases than the south end. Curiously, so has the south end of Lake County; which reported five additional cases last week, with more probables this week.
There appears to be another reason; reluctance on the part of a few businesses to enforce the public health safety standards on their premises, and outright belligerence on the part of some residents and visitors who somehow believe the rules don’t apply to them.
Just as concerning, our leaders have observed lax attitudes regarding contract tracing and the need to quarantine by those who might have been exposed to COVID-19.
“We’re seeing trends, people not being straight with us – refusing to give info for contact tracing,” said Chaffee Commissioner Greg Felt in opening remarks during the Chaffee Leadership Roundtable on Monday. “We’ve got to normalize the use of quarantines to preserve an open economy and an open society.”
Felt added that in last week’s leadership roundtable, attendees discussed growing mental health issues across the county, saying that Buena Vista School District Superintendent Lisa Yates had pointed to a number of episodes in the school system involving threats and suicide ideation. The concern is that a trend may be developing in the county.
“This is the disillusionment phase of a pandemic in terms of the epidemiology,” explained Chaffee Director of Public Health Andrea Carlstrom. “The stress and the economic situation is hitting home after what was a crazy busy and successful summer. We didn’t have to pay a price with the public health situation. But now that crazy time is ending….we’ve got a bit of opportunity to think ahead, to plan fall and winter.”
Image courtesy of Chaffee County Public Health.
CCPH asks community members to continue to adhere to the five commitments of containment, which are:
- Maintain 6 feet of social distance.
- Wash hands often.
- Wear face coverings in public.
- Get tested if symptoms develop.
- Stay home when sick.
Cooperate with CCPH as it manages the exposure notification process, which relies on an honest account of one’s interactions with others.
“Full disclosure with our department is vital for keeping the county’s cases low, protecting the most vulnerable, and securing in-person learning for students,” said Carlstrom. “We have been successful for the past several months, so let’s not give up now.”
“This is a public health strategy. We need people to see that this is not a sentence or verdict levied against you. It’s simply the most prudent thing to do for the greatest number of people,” added Felt. “Where it intersects with the schools, we have these large cohorts of kids and teachers. If something goes wrong, it affects all of them.”
The lax attitude about quarantining is matched by what appears to be another disturbing trend; motels and hotels not willing to help the county by cooperating to create spaces for isolation and quarantine.
“Our isolation and quarantine effort needs help,” said Carlstrom. “Over the weekend we tried to find an isolation location for a few positive cases where they had housemates and couldn’t remain in the congregate setting with roommates. I’m sad to say that our newest nurse called every single hotel and motel in this county, exploring whether they would take someone for isolation, and overwhelming we were told no. We were completely honest that that was what the room was for, and we’re really disappointed [in their refusal]. Especially, as you’ll recall, how Public Health stepped up to help them reopen as the pandemic hit, and to remain open … clearly, after a successful summer, they aren’t interested. It’s disappointing.”
For questions about COVID-19 transmission in the area, visit the county’s dashboard or call CCPH at 719-539-4510.
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