(June 18, 2020) – San Miguel County, CO --- San Miguel County Public Health is actively working with the Telluride Regional Medical Center to provide COVID-19 testing in a streamlined process, including contact tracing the five new cases announced yesterday.
One of these clusters is a group of teenagers that attended a social gathering in Telluride on the evening of Friday, June 12. Immediate contact tracing was initiated by Public Health and is ongoing. A letter to parents has been widely distributed in an effort to reach all teens potentially exposed. Public Health is stressing the importance of communication between family members to increase compliance and reduce the spread of COVID-19.
"We need to have direct, age-appropriate conversations with our children about the critical importance of maintaining social distancing, wearing face masks, and limiting social gatherings to no more than ten people,” Public Health Director Grace Franklin said. "We realize that teenagers are social beings, and this pandemic is cramping their style, but we know we must collectively change our behaviors to change the trajectory of this pandemic."
The Telluride Medical Center has amped up testing capabilities and staffing to meet the increased needs for testing. PCR test results are typically available in 3-5 business days after they are administered.
“The take home message is that if you or your child is symptomatic, they should stay at home, call their provider, and schedule an evaluation, which may include testing,” said Dr. Sharon Grundy, County Medical Officer and Director of Primary Care at the Telluride Medical Center.
Those who are asymptomatic, but are concerned about exposure should email publichealth@sanmiguelcountyco.gov for further guidance.
The following breakdown offers more information about the five new COVID-19 cases that were reported earlier this week. All cases are considered active, however none of the individuals required advanced care or hospitalization:
- A 25 year-old male
- A 17 year-old male
- A 43 year-old male
- A 33 year-old female
- A 50 year-old female who works in San Miguel County, but resides in another county. This individual is not included in the official COVID-19 totals because she is not a county resident, however the same public health protocols and contact tracing efforts have been implemented.
Franklin explained that this latest group of cases impacts one of the four decision metrics, but is not enough to change the course of current Public Health Orders.
"This is the time to stay focused and take clinically-indicated steps to help keep this outbreak contained as much as possible," said Franklin. “With increased testing and a loosening of restrictions, we are not surprised to see an uptick in cases. What we don’t want to see is a surge, and that’s why we must remain vigilant to best practices.”
County Manager Mike Bordogna added, “We remain confident in the plan that Public Health is following in response to this outbreak and in regard to our COVID response in general. I think that many of us have been concerned about the influx of visitors, but this situation makes it clear that we should not forget the serious consequences of our own actions.”
For up to date coronavirus information visit: https://www.sanmiguelcountyco.gov/coronavirus