The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
More than 130 people take antibody test on first day
by Mark Reaman
The latest public health order issued by Gunnison County was released Tuesday and will be in effect until June 1. It came the same day as the sixth local death attributed to COVID-19 was reported by the county. “Gunnison County’s Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced its sixth death associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19),” an email update from the Gunnison County Public Information Office stated. “The individual was a female in her 90s and was a Senior Care Center resident.”
The individual tested positive in early April for COVID-19 and then later was admitted to GVH on April 28 and tested negative.
“Unfortunately, our community has seen another loss of life due to COVID-19,” said Gunnison County director of Public Health Joni Reynolds. “We offer our condolences to the friends and family.”
The latest order signed on Tuesday morning relaxes some of the restrictions that were in place and sets the stage for opening business in the county. While businesses can begin preparing to host visitors this month, the idea is to allow tourists in earnest starting in June. Reynolds said in the order that the idea is to “roll out” relaxed restrictions “in order to continue to protect the public health but to also allow a gradual return to normal activities.”
Under the latest revision, non-resident visitors are permitted to travel to Gunnison County, so long as their respective state and local governments allow them to visit here, and so long as they otherwise follow other provisions included in the new order.
Gatherings are currently limited to no more than 10 people for most events. That limit may increase at various points in the summer.
The order emphasizes that while some county regulations are stricter than the state’s, others are governed by Colorado restrictions. For example, although this order will allow Coloradans from other counties to visit Gunnison County to recreate starting on May 27, they will not be allowed to do so if Colorado Governor Jared Polis continues to impose restrictions on recreational travel.
Concerning local restaurants, Reynolds is initially deferring to the governor. She states in the order that as soon as they are allowed to do so by state officials, or if Gunnison County applies for and receives a variance from the state, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, taverns, taprooms and distilleries may open on a limited and restricted basis as set forth in the order under certain guidelines.
Under the latest regulations, the definition of “at-risk persons” has changed from persons who are 60 years old to persons who are 65 years old, consistent with recent guidance issued by the state and the CDC.
Reynolds said places of worship provide essential human services, so places such as churches, synagogues and temples may allow up to 25 persons to attend services, so long as the requirements of the order are otherwise followed (e.g., masks for clergy who interact with parishioners). Places of worship are encouraged to conduct remote services whenever possible.
Spas, gyms, salons, outfitters and lodging businesses can all start easing into work with clients under certain limits this month. For more details of restrictions on various business sectors go to the county’s website at https://covid19.gunnisoncounty.org.
Tracking and tracing and a possible app
Part of the county’s next phase in this crisis is to track and trace new cases of the coronavirus. The hope is to identify anyone with the virus and then contact people they have been in contact with who might have gotten the virus. One tracking method being discussed is a phone app. Gunnison County public information officer Andrew Sandstrom said the privacy concerns with an app have raised some eyebrows but the app would include safeguards to protect those who volunteer to use it.
“As for the app, we wanted to gauge a level of interest in downloading. It obviously works better if more people participate,” Sandstrom explained in regard to an online survey asking people what they thought of the app. “Last check, about 70 percent said no, they weren’t interested and 30 percent said they were.
“I think there is some confusion out there about the app,” Sandstrom continued. “It would be completely voluntary for anyone who wants to use it. Their location would not be tracked; rather, their Bluetooth would record when they were close to another device that had the app. If the distance and time barrier that we set were met, then it would count as a ‘contact.’ From there, if someone tested positive, they can input in the app that they did and all of the ‘contacts’ would be notified. This would allow people to be hypersensitive to the fact that they may have been exposed so that they could voluntarily isolate and get tested.”
Sandstrom said the app, which would be built from an open-sourced platform, wouldn’t cost the county any money. He explained that some software developers have donated their time and the county was trying to gauge a level of interest in the community, as the app would likely take three to four weeks of development time.
Antibody tests available at GVH
Meanwhile, Gunnison Valley Hospital began testing county residents for antibodies on Tuesday. According to the GVH’s Kylie Murgatroyd, more than 130 people took advantage of the $75 test on the first day it was available. Results will be given to them by the end of the week. GVH has 300 of the tests available at this time but has already ordered more.
The Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG test is designed to detect antibodies in a blood sample that would indicate a person may have a current or prior COVID-19 infection.
Gunnison Valley Health’s CEO Rob Santilli confirmed that the community has been asking when antibody testing will be available in our valley.
“This specific test will provide peace of mind to community members knowing they may have the antibody to the virus, although it does not confirm immunity,” he said. “The information can also help our public health officials understand how widespread the outbreak is and determine what measures need to be in place to limit the spread of the virus.”
Business survey
The county business effort to reopen the county this week sent out a survey to local businesses to better understand what they are experiencing during this COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re working with the [chambers of commerce] and ICELab to disseminate the survey. Our intention is to collect this data and provide the information to Incident Command, elected officials and the One Valley Leadership Council,” explained Cathie Pagano, who is heading up the business recovery group. “We will also include survey results on the Gunnison County COVID-19 website for the public to view. We plan to distribute the survey every other week. As we collect baseline information we may be able to distill the survey to a smaller number of questions to make it quicker for businesses to complete.”
Memorial Day is not the time to change
The county reminds people that Memorial Day should be a very local holiday. County public information officer Sandstrom writes, “While Memorial Day traditionally serves as the unofficial start of summer, this year’s holiday weekend will be nontraditional on account of local and state measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Please keep in mind that Memorial Day weekend (Saturday, May 23 to Monday, May 25) falls before the conclusion of the most recently amended Public Health Order.”
Sandstrom continues, “Until then, travel within Gunnison County is restricted to ‘essential,’ and visitors to Gunnison County are prohibited. As such, Gunnison County residents should also plan to stay local for Memorial Day. The state is restricting travel and many other counties are also prohibiting visitation.”
Stay aware
The county’s public health order summary of the new order ends with a warning: The county continues to monitor the situation, and may be required to toughen or impose new restrictions in the future.
