Montezuma County health officials warn there could be an increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and urges the community to not let its guard down on prevention measures.
Meanwhile, Colorado restrictions have put businesses on the brink of collapse, and threatened local economies, services and jobs, officials said.
The county, which initially accepted the state’s phased plan to reopen businesses, is now reconsidering an exemption to loosen restrictions so that businesses can bring in more customers.
One part of the proposal asks the state to allow local restaurants to open dining areas at 40% capacity, with 6 feet between customers, disease monitoring, mask wearing and disinfection procedures.
“If there is an opportunity, let’s work to reopen up county businesses that have been nearly snuffed out,” said commissioner Keenan Ertel.
“I agree, let’s make a positive move forward and get this plan submitted,” added commissioner Jim Candelaria.
But before the exemption plan can be submitted to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment for a decision, it needs approval from the Montezuma County Public Health Department and Southwest Memorial Hospital, according to state protocols. County health officials are reviewing draft copies and submitting comments.
A draft plan will be reviewed during a county Board of Health meeting Wednesday at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on the county’s YouTube channel.
The commissioners, who also serve as the Board of Health, are counting on a flattening infection rate. Health officials warn it might not have peaked yet.
The previous spike was April 2, when three cases were confirmed. The 16th case was confirmed April 28.
As of April 23, the county tested about 300 people for the disease, with 16 cases, or 5%. coming back positive. Two deaths were attributed to the virus.
But the number of positive cases is likely higher, said Bobbi Lock, county health department director, because some infected people do not show symptoms and because there has been no widespread testing.
“I don’t think we have reached our peak yet,” Lock said. “There are more positives out there in our population walking around and do not know it because they don’t have symptoms.”
Southwest Memorial Hospital operates a drive-thru testing clinic and sends nasal swabs to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment for analysis. Results can take up to a week.
Limited testing makes it to identify who is positive in a community of 26,000 people, said Marc Meyer, infection control specialist at Southwest Health System.
“It has been circulating for quite a while,” he said. “Another spike is a concern.”
If there were more widespread testing, “possible hundreds” of cases could be revealed, Meyer said.
“It is hard to draw a conclusion community-wide with such a small sample,” said Kerri White-Singleton, chief operating officer for Southwest Medical Group. “The more testing, the more you catch positives.”
Statewide, 66,300 COVID-19 tests have been conducted as of Tuesday, with 13,879 positives – 210 positives for every 1,000 tests.
Health officials said the limited testing highlights the importance of everyone staying at home as much as possible, wearing masks, isolating if sick, staying away from people and disinfecting in order to stop the spread.
The attitude should be that everyone could potentially be infected, health officials said.
“This is challenging, and goes to citizen responsibility, and businesses taking responsibility,” Lock said. “We are here to educate them and need their help too.”
She urged that the county take “baby steps” in reopening businesses, in part to avoid closures if there is a spike in cases.
“Slow and steady wins the race,” Lock said.
Meanwhile, Montezuma County announced its 16th cases of the COVID-19 on April 28. No cases have been reported in Dolores County or on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation.
Just south of the state line, San Juan County, New Mexico, has reported 463 cases and 37 deaths.
San Juan Basin Public Health, which covers La Plata and Archuleta counties, announced Tuesday it would delay the reopening of some businesses and workplaces until May 8. Liane Jollon, director of SJBPH, said the main driving factor in the decision was the fact that the outbreak is hitting residents hard in northern New Mexico, where many people commute to work from La Plata County, and vice versa.
The Colorado Department of Health and Environment has identified 141 outbreaks of COVID-19, including at a restaurant in Telluride.
According to the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office, an outbreak of five positive cases were connected to Brown Dog Pizza that included four employees and a child.
They are under a 14-day quarantine, and San Miguel Public Health is taking aggressive contact tracing to advise and protect people who may have came in contact with the restaurant staff.
The popular restaurant, which was limited to delivery and takeout, closed after its first employee tested positive. It plans to reopen in May.
“We’ve implemented a plan that has been developed by our food safety team and follows CDC-approved guidelines,” states a post on Brown Dog’s Facebook Page. “First and foremost is making sure our employees have what they need. We will continue to coordinate with state and local health officials to ensure community protocols are being exceeded.”
CDPHE defines an outbreak as two or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a facility or (nonhousehold) group in a 14 day period.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
