The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
But Gunnison County remains in decent shape
[ By Mark Reaman ]
Gunnison County did not see a big spike in coronavirus cases after the Thanksgiving holiday as some expected, but the numbers have increased and the county warns everyone to stay aware.
While local young people did see a spike in positive tests this fall, the county’s contact tracing program was able to isolate and contain the spread for the most part. Still, some in the more at-risk categories came down with the coronavirus.
Five people have shown up in the last two weeks at the Gunnison Valley Hospital Emergency Room and two of them were immediately transferred to other facilities: one to Grand Junction and the other to Montrose. Three others were admitted to GVH. One stayed for three nights before being released, while another was in GVH for two nights and then released. A third has been in the hospital five nights but is getting better and is rated in the “green” status.
“We are consistently seeing positives and that is expected,” said Gunnison County public information officer Andrew Sandstrom. “But we are still one of four counties in Colorado with fewer restrictions than the rest of the state. We are in the state’s ‘yellow’ category and most of the rest of Colorado is in the orange or red category. Overall we are remaining steady.”
Sandstrom said the statewide trend is that cases are dropping a bit. The potential Thanksgiving bump didn’t happen and with tighter restrictions on the Front Range, the number of hospitalizations and positive cases has started to go down.
“We all know that people are getting tired of dealing with the pandemic but we have to stay vigilant,” emphasized Sandstrom. “Keep socially distanced. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. The vaccine is here but it will still be months before everyone who wants one can get it.”
In the meantime, the county is holding a couple of free testing days for anyone who wants a test. “This test will provide a snapshot of if a person is actively infected with the virus,” Sandstrom said. “The hope is that we catch asymptomatic carriers before they spread the virus to others who may become more ill.”
The testing will take place Thursday, December 17 at the Buckhorn Airport near Crested Butte out Brush Creek between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. In Gunnison, the test day will take place Friday, December 18 at the county fairgrounds.
As of December 15, the county is reporting 632 positive test results and 6,276 negatives, with 72 pending tests. “We’re in pretty good shape but don’t let your guard down. We’re not done with this,” concluded Sandstrom.
