The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
So far, Western looking good
By Mark Reaman
The county is still doing the COVID-19 dance. The positive coronavirus case numbers are continuing to fluctuate but the goal remains the same—to keep cases at a manageable level and that is happening.
Gunnison County public information officer Andrew Sandstrom said that while the number of positives was decreasing and the county was getting close to having a two-week positivity rate of about 5 percent, Tuesday’s numbers popped the rate to closer to 8 percent. “We had five positive cases reported today,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “We are still very much in the dance. We are down from the scary peak and the big upticks but we are still seeing cases. It’s a back and forth. We expect to continue to see positive cases but we need to keep them manageable.”
Sandstrom again emphasized that the community was doing a great job in that dance. When the number of cases began to increase the community ramped up precautions and the overall numbers dropped.
“We are not out of the woods yet but the community is doing great and the hospital is in fine shape,” he said.
The next dance step will likely be focused on the return of students to both Western Colorado University (WCU) and the Gunnison Watershed School District. Young people mingling in tight classrooms? What could go wrong?
“Since June the county Public Health Department has been meeting weekly with both Western and the local school district,” said Sandstrom. “The planning has been extensive and public health is committed to helping in any way possible.”
WCU students have been back on campus more than a week and so far Sandstrom said he is not aware of anyone at the university testing positive. He reiterated that WCU was partnered with Gunnison Valley Health. An on-campus testing site has been set up but has not yet been used. The general county testing site at the hospital has plenty of space for students and faculty at the moment but Sandstrom said if the numbers start to increase or the weather turns, the new campus testing facility will open.
He also said the campus community is utilizing an app that helps individuals remain aware of possible symptoms and what to do if they start experiencing them. “It keeps students, faculty and staff cognizant of potential coronavirus situations,” he said. “Public Health and GVH are there to follow up if anyone has questions originating from the app and it appears a few students have had hangovers but no cases of COVID.”
There is no testing site at any of the Gunnison School District campuses but systems are in place to deal with students and staff who show early symptoms. “We have an entire protocol in place of what to do if a teacher or student shows any sign of the virus,” said Sandstrom. “It is important to keep a student home if they think they are exhibiting any symptoms. We don’t know how it will play out when school starts but we think everyone has an understanding of what to do and how to be careful.”
Overall in terms of testing, Sandstrom said while there are plenty of test kits in the county, there is always the need for more. “The science team is looking at other testing methods such as the saliva test,” he said. “Rapid point of care tests are being used but we don’t have a lot of them. They get used in situations like when someone comes to the hospital with a broken leg or someone at the senior center is showing symptoms. We don’t have many of those so they are being used cautiously.”
Sandstrom said the state recommends that, based on county population, about 13 or 14 people should be tested every day. “We have the ability and number of tests to test about 35 people per day,” he said. “We have a good stockpile of testing swabs. But we want to keep some in reserve in case of a major outbreak or another uptick when we need to get more data. Right now we are probably testing an average of 15 to 20 people a day.”
So while the “dance” continues, the county is optimistic about where it stands at the moment. Officials are, however, very aware that with schools starting, the numbers could begin to rise again as early as next week if the community lets down its guard.
