SAN LUIS VALLEY -
COVID-19 has reached a very high level in our region. There are currently 149 known active cases of COVID-19 in the San Luis Valley. Individual responsibility is the key to turning this around.
If you know you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, DO NOT WAIT to be contacted; self-quarantine for 14 days from the date of your last exposure. “Contact” means that you have been within 6 feet of the person who is infectious for more than 15 minutes in a 24-hour period. Quarantine means that you must stay at home and away from others, except to receive medical care. If you have questions, contact your local public health agency.
Social gatherings are one of the most common ways that the virus is spreading in the San Luis Valley at this time. Public Health is also finding that some members of the community have unintentionally exposed others due to misunderstandings about the need for quarantine. If one member of a household has COVID-19, their household members must self-quarantine.
There has been an increase in demand for testing. If you have symptoms, please contact one of the phone lines at the bottom of this article to be screened for testing. Please be patient, as call volumes are high. If you are given the option, leave a message. This will help those who are doing the screening to serve you better.
After your test, while you are waiting for your results, please self-isolate. This is especially important right now, because high demand may cause test results to take longer than we would like, and you may be infectious to others while you are waiting.
Next week we will launch a new SLV webpage to help local residents have a clearer picture of where we stand in relation to the State Dial. Some residents have already begun watching the Dial on Colorado’s COVID webpage. The dial defines risk and restriction levels on a scale from green (lowest risk), then blue, yellow, orange, and red (highest risk). Currently, Mineral County is in blue. The rest of our SLV counties are in yellow. However, Alamosa and Conejos Counties are in mitigation status, which means that if we are not able to reduce COVID in these counties very soon, they may be moved to orange, which would mean tighter restrictions and lower business capacities. More information about what is allowed at each level can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wpq8MrsvtY0_jW07mWCLmVXtv4P_wFR2/view .
CDPHE has updated the guidance for when children and staff should stay at home from school or child care, in their How Sick Is Too Sick guide. It is important to remember that in addition to their own illness, children and staff may need to stay home if they are quarantined due to exposure to a family member or someone else with COVID.
Colorado has launched a new phone app to help notify people who have been exposed to someone with COVID. Data is not collected by any government agency with this app. It works by phone-to-phone exchange of tokens via bluetooth, and is designed to be completely anonymous. Use of the phone app is completely voluntary. It is not a replacement for contact tracing. Rather, it is one more tool that people can use to keep themselves and others well-informed so that they can take appropriate action to prevent further spread of COVID-19. You can get more information and sign up for the app at https://www.addyourphone.com/.
The SLV currently has 149 known active COVID-19 cases.
Alamosa County- 77
Conejos County - 30
Costilla County - 9
Mineral County - 0
Rio Grande County - 21
Saguache County - 12
Numbers are updated weekdays at slvemergency.org/slv-covid-19
To pursue testing for COVID-19, or for medical questions, call;
Rio Grande Hospital 719-657-4990
SLVHealth Respiratory Clinic 719-589-3000 ext. 9
Valley-Wide Health Systems 719-589-3658 ext. 9 (M-F), 719-589-2562 (Sa/Su)
The Colorado Spirit Crisis Counseling Program (CCP) offers community-based crisis counseling, help with disaster coping strategies, education, and more. Get information at https://www.slvbhg.org/services-and-programs/coloradospirit/ or call 719-587-5673.
For general (non-medical) SLV COVID-19 related questions: slvepr@alamosacounty.org, 719-480-8719