{"id":1318729,"date":"2020-03-14T07:57:20","date_gmt":"2020-03-14T13:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=994662"},"modified":"2020-03-14T07:57:20","modified_gmt":"2020-03-14T13:57:20","slug":"virus-reaches-community-transmission-in-aspen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/virus-reaches-community-transmission-in-aspen\/","title":{"rendered":"Virus reaches \u2018community transmission\u2019 in Aspen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Social distancing was put into effect during an Aspen City Council meeting to discuss the coronavirus pandemic at City Hall on Thursday, March 12, 2020. The council passed a resolution declaring an emergency due to COVID-19. <\/strong>
(Kelsey Brunner\/ThKelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The Aspen-area community is now experiencing \u201ccommunity transmission\u201d of the COVID-19 virus, two local public health officials said Friday.<\/p>\n

That means the virus has spread among the local population \u2014 outside of the group of visiting Australians who were previously identified as the area\u2019s only cases \u2014 and cannot be traced back to an original source, said Karen Koenemann, Pitkin County Public Health director.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what (the state public health department has) seen, \u2026 we have limited community spread in this community,\u201d she said during a media briefing call Friday afternoon. \u201cWe know for certain that there\u2019s community spread in Eagle County.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so, because of that, knowing it\u2019s just a matter of time, we decided to be really proactive with Eagle and Garfield (counties) around this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comment referenced a tri-county public health order issued late Thursday night forbidding gatherings of more than 50 people until April 8.<\/p>\n

But the diagnosis of Aspen community transmission of the virus was not backed up by official test numbers of local Aspen or Pitkin County residents who have come up positive for the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n

Koenemann said local public health officials hadn\u2019t received test results back from the state lab from samples taken from at least 25 residents Wednesday and Thursday. She said she did not know when those results might become available.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Aspen Ambulance Director Gabe Muething agreed that Aspen-area community transmission of the virus has occurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know at this point we do have community transmission,\u201d Muething said during Friday\u2019s media call.<\/p>\n

Officials also are awaiting test results from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta for the group of 10 Australians who tested \u201cpresumptive positive\u201d for the virus earlier this week. The CDC must confirm the positive test before they are officially positive cases.<\/p>\n

The group of 10 \u2014 plus three others who refused to be tested \u2014 remain in isolation in Aspen.<\/p>\n

Muething and Koenemann, along with Alex Burchetta of the Pitkin County Sheriff\u2019s Office, are heading up the management team dealing with the virus in the Roaring Fork Valley.<\/p>\n

Those officials and others have urged residents to take so-called \u201csocial distancing\u201d measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including frequent hand-washing, keeping hands away from faces and staying home if residents feel sick. Those who are sick can treat themselves as if they have the flu.<\/p>\n

However, those who feel like they have COVID-19 symptoms that are worsening should call 911, said Lori Maloy, chief clinical officer at Aspen Valley Hospital. If people with COVID-19 symptoms arrive at the hospital\u2019s emergency room, they must call a number posted in the front of the hospital, and they will be taken into the facility through a backdoor after health care workers prepare to receive them, she said.<\/p>\n

Despite local schools closing for the next two weeks, most public events canceled and general life in Aspen derailed for at least the near future, Koenemann praised local efforts to contain the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are one of the most aggressive communities in the country,\u201d she said. \u201cEven though we can\u2019t prevent widespread transmission in our community, what we\u2019re trying to prevent is explosive transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitkin County Joe DiSalvo agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing more than any other county when it comes to this,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are very aggressive and I think it\u2019s really going to help us. The best way to stop it is to get in front of it early and stop its spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiSalvo also said he and other officials are aware of the devastating economic impact the virus will have on Aspen and Pitkin County\u2019s economy. However, he said that with just a month left in the ski season, \u201cif we\u2019ve got to have it happen, now is a decent time for it to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful it\u2019s not Christmas time,\u201d he said, noting that his wife owns a local business in Aspen that will undoubtedly feel the economic pain. \u201cIt hurts significantly, but it\u2019s not as devastating as if it happened mid-season.\u201d<\/p>\n

jauslander@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Social distancing was put into effect during an Aspen City Council meeting to discuss the coronavirus pandemic at City Hall on Thursday, March 12, 2020. The council passed a resolution declaring an emergency due to COVID-19. (Kelsey Brunner\/ThKelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times The Aspen-area community is now experiencing \u201ccommunity transmission\u201d of the COVID-19 virus, two local […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1318729","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-29 18:18:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318729\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}