{"id":806053,"date":"2020-04-04T17:26:46","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T23:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381431"},"modified":"2020-04-04T17:26:46","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T23:26:46","slug":"summit-county-health-experts-update-covid-19-testing-demand-and-contextualize-symptom-social-distance-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-county-health-experts-update-covid-19-testing-demand-and-contextualize-symptom-social-distance-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit County health experts update COVID-19 testing demand and contextualize symptom, social distance data"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/CommunityCareClinic-SDN-033120-16-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/CommunityCareClinic-SDN-033120-16-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/CommunityCareClinic-SDN-033120-16-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/CommunityCareClinic-SDN-033120-16-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/CommunityCareClinic-SDN-033120-16-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/CommunityCareClinic-SDN-033120-16-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>An outdoor COVID-19 testing area is pictured at Summit Community Care Clinic in Frisco on Monday, March 30.<\/strong><br \/><em>Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>DILLON \u2013 As Summit County positive tests of the new coronavirus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/7-new-coronavirus-cases-bring-summit-county-total-to-50\/\">reached 50 Saturday<\/a>, local health experts shared their latest takeaways specific to the spread of COVID-19 in Summit County, speaking on how testing is going and what lies ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Hendershott, the county health department\u2019s environmental health manager, spoke about the ever-evolving situation and forecasted what he and other health experts around the county are focused on monitoring in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Hendershott and county spokeswoman Julie Sutor said the county health department\u2019s primary talking point in recent days has been testing. Sutor said the county still does not have the capacity to test everyone in the community who has symptoms, though in the last week the county has begun to expand testing to people who are sick with more moderate symptoms that could be associated with COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>As of Saturday, Hendershoot said the county has been able to keep up with the doctors\u2019 demand for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-county-announces-mobile-coronavirus-testing\/\">mobile testing<\/a>, a method that brings testing capabilities to an individual\u2019s residence or location. A doctor\u2019s prescription is still required to be tested.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-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.summitdaily.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>\u201cAs we get referrals we haven\u2019t had to turn anyone away, to my knowledge, on a daily basis,\u201d Hendershoot said. \u201cWe are able to meet all of those testing requests so far.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In terms of test-result turnaround, Hendershoot said in the cases where an individual\u2019s symptoms are particularly severe, these critical test results have been fast-tracked for feedback in 24 hours. He added the county is still experiencing some turnaround times of up to a week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s partially dependent on the severity of getting the results of those tests and which labs those tests are going to,\u201d Hendershoot said. \u201cWe try to keep a pulse on which labs are experiencing the fastest turnaround times and sending our tests to those labs understanding that most other agencies and medical providers are also watching those trends as well. A lab that is experiencing fast turnaround times today quickly gets overwhelmed and is one of the slower turnarounds tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though demand for doctor-prescribed tests in the county hasn\u2019t reached capacity for those with the worst COVID-19-like symptoms, the county\u2019s health department maintains there remains \u201ca huge gap\u201d in fully understanding the spread of COVID-19 in Summit County.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more, the county <a href=\"https:\/\/datastudio.google.com\/u\/0\/reporting\/1FZEuQfsBPdHjikFNL_NC-UHkfIDISrrs\/page\/UdJJB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">launched its symptom tracker <\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>of COVID-19-like symptoms a little over a week ago. Sutor stressed the tracker and the data it shares with the public is not diagnostic of coronavirus\u2019 spread in the county, though it does give a sense of the spread of respiratory illness in the community. As of Saturday, the tracker had nearly 1,300 responses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you look at the people who\u2019ve responded, I think the order of magnitude is instructive when you compare that to the order of magnitude of the positive tests that we\u2019re publishing on a daily basis on the web page of the people who we\u2019re actually testing,\u201d Sutor said.<\/p>\n<p>Hendershott bluntly stated that the surveillance tool was set up to address the county\u2019s lack of testing. Both he and Sutor cautioned the public to digest the tracker\u2019s symptomatic data in context. On Saturday afternoon, the tracker showed an overall trend-line rise in date of symptom onset from 13 people on Feb. 13, to a high of 82 on March 16 back down to three on April 1.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the real reason we are seeing a decline in the amount of respiratory illness over the last couple of days is more reflective of persons that are experiencing illness in the last several days not submitting those results into the system,\u201d Hendershott said. \u201cAnd we recognize that as a shortcoming with this. We do have plans of pushing that message out to the public reminding them to utilize the tool and put that information in routinely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sutor added the county feels the public shouldn\u2019t look at the chart\u2019s decline and feel the community is seeing a decrease in disease activity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause based on our data for hospitalizations and surveillance we are absolutely not seeing that,\u201d Sutor said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe expect that there would be a lag between when people are experiencing symptoms and when they are entering them into the tracker,\u201d Sutor added. \u201cSo that\u2019s something for people looking at the graph \u2013 particularly that timeline of symptom onset chart \u2013 that people should kind of keep that in mind, there is a lag between \u2018I\u2019m feeling so sick,\u2019 to, likely a few days later \u2014 when they have time and are feeling better \u2013 they actually are entering their symptoms into the tracker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrimary care providers, they are giving us information routinely,\u201d Hendershott added. \u201cAnd they are continuing to see a lot of activity from the community calling them with COVID questions, experiencing symptoms. They are telling us that has not declined at all. In some cases, it continues to increase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, attention has turned to Telluride as it was announced the private company United Biomedical is now working with San Miguel County to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpr.org\/2020\/03\/19\/while-some-in-colorado-cant-get-a-coronavirus-test-san-miguel-country-will-swab-everyone\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">test all of its residents for COVID-19 antibodies<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> \u2014 the first community in the country to do so. The idea is to learn from an individual\u2019s blood whether there is evidence the person has already been exposed to COVID-19. Theoretically this information can be used to quantify the virus\u2019s spread and aid in making decisions about whether quarantines and restrictions need to continue.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking Friday night, Dr. Sharon Grundy, San Miguel County medical officer, said antibody testing isn\u2019t \u201cthe ticket\u201d to opening communities like Telluride back up. She emphasized that social distancing and quarantine for community members remains paramount to eventual victory over coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are keeping an eye and an ear on that antibody test and trying to evaluate its usefulness,\u201d Hendershoot said. \u201cOne thing to keep in mind with the antibody test is it usually doesn\u2019t show up as positive until you are anywhere from eight to 30 days into your illness. \u2026so what we are looking at is using the antibody test, potentially, as we\u2019re more on the down side of the curve so that we can start to release people to go back to work if they have a positive antibody test. Because we know they have already been exposed, we know they aren\u2019t spreading the disease. So we are keeping a close eye on that to see how we can best utilize it here in Summit County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hendershott and Sutor lauded Summit locals for their stay-at-home discipline over the past three weeks. Their observations are backed by data. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/covid19\/mobility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Based on the data of Google users who had opted into location sharing<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, as of March 29, retail and recreation mobility had dropped 86% from baseline levels. Grocery and pharmacy mobility decreased 73%, parks dropped 74% and workplace decreased 71%.<\/p>\n<p>Summit\u2019s retail and recreation numbers were better than all but Clear Creek and Pitkin counties. The grocery and pharmacy decline was, by far, the best in the state. The workplace percentage decline was slightly behind Eagle and Pitkin. The statewide average drop was 51% for retail and recreation, 27% for grocery and pharmacy, 12% for parks and 40% for workplaces.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unacast.com\/covid19\/social-distancing-scoreboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unacast\u2019s Social Distancing Scoreboard<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, Summit County earned an A- thanks to data indicating a decrease in average human mobility between 55-70% and a greater than 70% decrease in non-essential visits.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-county-health-experts-update-covid-19-testing-demand-and-contextualize-symptom-social-distance-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An outdoor COVID-19 testing area is pictured at Summit Community Care Clinic in Frisco on Monday, March 30.Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com DILLON \u2013 As Summit County positive tests of the new coronavirus reached 50 Saturday, local health experts shared their latest takeaways specific to the spread of COVID-19 in Summit County, speaking on how testing [&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":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-17 06:17:58","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":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}