The COVID-19 case count in Chaffee County has increased by just one in the past five days, after an increase of nine in the week prior, marking a total of 12 new cases since Sept. 1.
Nearly all of the most recent cases were recorded from the north end of the county (Buena Vista and Nathrop area) and ranged from a female and two males under the age of 18 and surprisingly, with the exception of the latest case, an 82-year-old patient reported Friday who is currently hospitalized at Heart of the Rockies Regional Health Center, the oldest were a 37-year-old man and a 35 year-old woman.
Chaffee County Public Health Director Andrea Carlstrom told Ark Valley Voice she did not believe the recent upturn in cases reflected Labor Day’s impact of increased visitors and group gatherings.
“It does not appear as though activities from Labor Day were the source of this recent string of new cases. I think it was just bound to happen at some point,” she said.
Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center is currently at 56 percent of patient capacity.
Total cumulative county cases are listed at 330, not counting 18 out-of-county cases who were detected here or at an HRRMC out-of-county clinic but possibly did not spend any appreciable time here. A total of 19 death have been recorded among the COVID-19 cases here, 14 directly attributed to the virus itself. The county positivity rate was listed at 1.94 percent.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) reported more than 500 cases on Sept. 19, an increase of 79 infections. The seven-day moving average also increased by 22 to 432, which brought the state positivity rate to 3.53 percent. Overall there have been 63,750 statewide cases that have resulted in 2,013 deaths and 7,357 people hospitalized.
Featured image – Courtesy Chaffee County Department of Public Health
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