The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
No one big event responsible for latest uptick
by Mark Reaman
Positive coronavirus test results continue to climb in the valley with numbers showing that the overwhelming majority of new positive cases in the last month are centered in Gunnison. According to the county’s science team, 88-percent of the new positive are located in Gunnison.
The concern among the Gunnison County COVID-19 Incident Command Team is that the continuing uptick in positive coronavirus test results will ultimately impact the local at-risk population and force a move to more stringent restrictions.
That is not yet the case, as both the Gunnison Valley Hospital and nearby regional hospitals with ICU capability have plenty of open beds, but Gunnison County public information officer Andrew Sandstrom said a rise in cases can have the domino effect of filling those hospitals beds.
Between July 10 and July 24, there have been 48 new positive coronavirus cases reported in Gunnison County. Sandstrom said that spike is “very concerning” but not yet reason to move to tighter restrictions. There is an almost 18-percent positivity rate for those tested.
“There is obviously a major upswing and the thing that is concerning public health director Joni Reynolds is that there is no particular hot spot like a party event that has produced the uptick,” Sandstrom said. “These positives are across the board so the spread is broad. That is a concern and so is the time it is taking to get test results back. We are seeing results taking more than a week and that hampers contact tracing and decision making. We are still tracking people who have been in contact with those who tested positive and implementing quarantine measures so we are trying to keep on top of it. In an ideal world, there would be a much faster turnaround with results.”
Sandstrom said the bright spot was that the current positive results have not translated to more people in the hospital. As of July 29 there were no people in the hospital because of COVID-19.
“The impacts on the hospital are not as severe as the first wave we saw in the spring,” Sandstrom said. “The thinking is that generally, more young people are testing positive right now. But if it keeps spreading, eventually the at-risk population will be exposed and that will not be good. This is a bad trend we are seeing.”
While there are more positive cases being seen in the south end of the valley around Gunnison, Sandstrom said both Crested Butte and Gunnison are seeing an increase in cases. Those being reported now could have originated during or shortly after the July Fourth holiday period, when more people were around and mingling.
“We need to do our best right now to keep the at-risk population safe,” Sandstrom emphasized. “We are monitoring the hospital in Gunnison and the regional facilities where we would transfer people who need extended care. The other aspect we are monitoring is the staff at the hospital. If health care providers get sick and are out of commission, that is a worry. If we continue down this road it is only a matter of time before we see impacts on the hospitals.”
Given the change in situation, Sandstrom said it is more important than ever for people to remain aware. “There is no silver bullet for treatment so we need to continue practicing prevention measures,” he said. “Really think twice about taking a bike ride with a group of 10 friends or having a backyard barbeque with 20 people. Interacting with groups exposes you to potential contacts.
“We know we are fighting human nature,” Sandstrom continued. “Humans are social creatures. But that is where exposure happens, so stay aware.”
Sandstrom again said the Coronameter is doing its job by providing an early warning to citizens. The early warning is meant to give people an opportunity to change their behavior. “It seems to be working,” he noted. “Keep in mind that given the lag between symptoms and test results, the fruits of our actions taken today will show up in about two weeks.
“In the time of COVID, people are going to get sick. That’s a reality,” Sandstrom continued. “Going to more extreme measures and locking things down further is based essentially on our ability to care for those getting sick. So the next decisions are not just based on the number of positive cases but they are guidelines and the team will look at a variety of circumstances when making decisions.”
Sandstrom said while the tracking team is not seeing one large event responsible for the uptick in cases, they have isolated a number of smaller bubbles and have successfully tracked down people who have been exposed and who could have been spreading the virus.
“We seem to be a doing a good job of containing the virus but the unfortunate part is that there are a number of unconnected bubbles and that indicates widespread outbreaks,” said Sandstrom. “So for now the advice is to step up with wearing a mask, keep social distancing and wash your hands.”
