{"id":1318768,"date":"2020-03-16T10:17:28","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T16:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaildaily.com\/?p=475006"},"modified":"2020-03-16T14:51:49","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T20:51:49","slug":"eagle-county-outlines-shift-for-covid-19-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/eagle-county-outlines-shift-for-covid-19-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagle County outlines shift for COVID-19 testing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A health care worker readies a test at the COVID-19 testing facility in Gypsum. <\/strong>
Courtesy Vail Health<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

EAGLE COUNTY \u2014 With a new week dawning and Eagle County residents hunkering down to meet the local COVID-19 scenario, Eagle County Public Safety is stressing there has been a change in response focus.<\/p>\n

With community-level transmission, the testing and screening guidance is shifting. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we have rapidly identified the arrival of COVID-19 in our community, our focus is to slow the spread of the virus, protect our medical infrastructure, and protect the most vulnerable people in our community,\u201d said Eagle County Director of Communications Kris Widlak. \u201cTesting all patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 is no longer recommended. A key priority is to shift our testing to people that are at greatest risk for severe disease, complications, and death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being proactive<\/h2>\n

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Sunday issued a statement asking residents and visitors to Eagle County, and three other mountain communities, to \u201cminimize their contact with other people<\/a>\u201d in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who has been in Eagle, Summit, Pitkin or Gunnison counties in the past week should minimize all contact with other people, whether or not they are experiencing symptoms,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Eagle County now has 25 presumed positive cases of COVID-19, the second-most among Colorado counties. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says all presumptive positive cases are now considered positive. CDC is no longer performing confirmatory testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing extensive outbreaks in these communities,\u201d Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, said in a written statement. \u201cWe are asking people to take this voluntary action to slow the spread of the disease in Colorado and keep people safe. If we do this now, our hope is that we can slow down the spread of this virus and lessen the potential stress on our health care systems and workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the reasons Eagle County may have so many confirmed cases is because it has done so many tests. According to Vail Health, it has sent more than 400 samples to the state lab, with more than 200 results still pending.<\/p>\n

Sally Welsh, Vail Health\u2019s director of public relations, wrote in a text that Vail Health\u2019s assessment is that Eagle County has submitted more samples, per capita, than any county in the state.<\/p>\n

Vail Health has begun to send tests to private labs as well, given that turnaround times on tests to the state lab have slowed considerably as more tests arrive.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of COVID-19 are fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, cough, or shortness of breath.<\/p>\n

Those who are experiencing symptoms but are not getting tested are asked to self-report symptoms at https:\/\/bit.ly\/39XFRne<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Highest priority<\/h2>\n

The following patients with COVID-19 symptoms are considered at the highest priority for testing:<\/p>\n