{"id":1319524,"date":"2020-04-19T10:12:01","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T16:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/as-virus-spread-slows-county-eyes-reopening\/"},"modified":"2020-04-19T10:12:01","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T16:12:01","slug":"as-virus-spread-slows-eagle-county-eyes-reopening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/as-virus-spread-slows-eagle-county-eyes-reopening\/","title":{"rendered":"As virus spread slows, Eagle County eyes reopening"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"443\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/10\/PI-news-update-small.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Post Independent News Update graphic\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/10\/PI-news-update-small.jpg 691w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/10\/PI-news-update-small-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Eagle County is asking the state for permission to reopen businesses and outdoor recreation areas that can meet social distancing requirements. Heath Harmon, local public health director, said Saturday that the Vail Valley has now reached a level where everyone who has COVID-19 symptoms can get a test.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Availability of tests is key to making such a request, according to the National Coronavirus Response, A Road Map to Reopening \u2014 a document on which Eagle County and other areas around the state are basing their plans for reopening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">During the past week, Harmon said commercial labs were able to work through a backlog of tests, and results are now coming back consistently within 24 to 48 hours. That, along with the fact that local health providers now have full access to testing for anyone who shows symptoms in Eagle County, means the county has now met the requirements to trigger the relief request, Harmon said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Now that Eagle County has seen a sustained decrease in COVID-19 cases for at least 14 days, Harmon said the community will receive greater health benefits from incrementally loosening restrictions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row gspi-donation gspi-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/pi-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cLet\u2019s face it, economically we can also see longer-term public health concerns, behavioral health concerns, as well,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cSo what we\u2019re really trying to do is measure the risk in the community with the fact that the spread of the disease has slowed down so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Harmon likened it to taking a step forward as a community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe want people to be able to get a paycheck again. We want to make sure that people can pay their rent again, pay their mortgages again. We want those businesses where people are employed to slowly be able to open up again, still implementing those social distancing requirements,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cAnd find the balance and the benefits that relate to the disease in the community, the economic pieces for each of us as residents in the community, as well as our behavioral health needs as a community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Following the roadmap<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Harmon said a lot of local public health officials have looked to the National Coronavirus Response, A Road Map to Reopening document in preparing their plans for reopening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019ve been on calls all this week with folks across the state. \u2026 We all realized that these are important pieces before we even think about reopening, that these things need to be in place, these triggers need to be met at that local levels,\u201d Harmon said, in reference to the document\u2019s \u201ctrigger for moving to Phase II.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The document suggests states begin Phase II \u2014 in which a majority of schools and businesses can reopen with limitations to keep people from congregating in close proximity \u2014 once the following provisions are achieved:<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">A sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">Hospitals in the state are safely able to treat all patients requiring hospitalization without resorting to crisis standards of care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">The state is able to test all people with COVID-19 symptoms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText ListBullet\">The state is able to conduct active monitoring of confirmed cases and their contacts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Harmon said that in Eagle County, the provisions for moving to Phase II are now being met and positive cases have seen sustained reduction despite the fact that testing has expanded, thanks in part to a mobile testing unit that has been visiting low-income areas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been expanding testing, both in the Eagle Valley and the Roaring Fork Valley,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cThe testing we\u2019re making more available in areas it may not have been as accessible previously. So the testing volume, because of those outreaches, is probably no different than it was two weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Get tested right away<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Harmon\u2019s request also asks permission to increase the size of permissible gatherings in Eagle County from zero to 10.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe want people to be able to recreate. We just also want to make sure that people are not in large groups and gatherings when they\u2019re doing that,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cI think getting outside is one thing that we continue to want to stress. We just need to do that in a socially distanced way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Harmon said regardless of the outcome of his request to the state, people who have symptoms will need to get tested quickly in order to keep reducing the spread, and Eagle County residents can now expect to have COVID-19 testing available to anyone who needs them in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re hoping to make sure that we have that capacity. That\u2019s what we\u2019re building, and we\u2019re working with our medical community to be able to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cVail Health has been an incredible partner all along the way to be able to test more rapidly than what we\u2019ve seen in other communities, and so right now we\u2019re wanting to make sure first and foremost that the public understands that there\u2019s an individual responsibility here. If you\u2019re developing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, we really want you to get in for testing within 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Response next week<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is expected to respond early next week to Eagle County\u2019s request. Local officials say the response could include approval, denial or suggested changes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A statement from Eagle County issued on Saturday said the board of commissioners was in full support of the request, and Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry said public health and economic health are intrinsically tied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAs we look at changing our public health orders, we must do so in a manner that keeps our health a top priority,\u201d she said. \u201cWe will need the community\u2019s help in striking the right balance of reopening and caution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Commissioner Matt Scherr said thousands of families are living with risks to their food, shelter, and physical and mental health because they have lost their jobs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cGiving them an opportunity to earn a paycheck will be paramount to improving their families\u2019 stability, reducing anxiety and depression, and starting our community down the road to recovery,\u201d Scherr said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Eagle County Public Health is sharing local data, including case counts, hospitalizations and more, through its Eagle County COVID-19 Monitoring dashboard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Additional information is available at ECEmergency.org and by following One Valley Voice at facebook.com\/OneValleyVoice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Residents may also email <a href=\"mailto:CovidQuestions@eaglecounty.us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CovidQuestions@eaglecounty.us<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> or call 970-328-9750 with questions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/as-virus-spread-slows-county-eyes-reopening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eagle County is asking the state for permission to reopen businesses and outdoor recreation areas that can meet social distancing requirements. Heath Harmon, local public health director, said Saturday that the Vail Valley has now reached a level where everyone who has COVID-19 symptoms can get a test. Availability of tests is key to making [&hellip;]<\/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-1319524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-26 11:05:04","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\/1319524","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=1319524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1319524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1319524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1319524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}