{"id":2457687,"date":"2020-04-25T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-26T04:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/elizabeth-milias-lets-get-this-aspen-party-started\/"},"modified":"2020-04-25T22:40:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-26T04:40:00","slug":"elizabeth-milias-lets-get-this-aspen-party-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/elizabeth-milias-lets-get-this-aspen-party-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Milias: Let\u2019s get this Aspen party started"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"911\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/milias-atd-010520-1-911x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/milias-atd-010520-1-911x1024.jpg 911w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/milias-atd-010520-1-267x300.jpg 267w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/milias-atd-010520-1-768x863.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/milias-atd-010520-1-1367x1536.jpg 1367w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/milias-atd-010520-1-1822x2048.jpg 1822w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 911px) 100vw, 911px\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">You know it\u2019s been an eventful week in quarantine when you\u2019ve listened in on several public meetings including the Pitkin County board of health, cleaned out your closets and celebrated with a road trip to Wal-Mart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">We have collectively done a bang-up job of staying home and protecting ourselves over the past six weeks, despite having no clue how many people here have been sick. As for leadership and decisions, many of our electeds simply defer to appointed bureaucrats and state leaders, while others proselytize on social media and advocate government bailouts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">FACT: Our stay-at-home order has not \u2014 I repeat not \u2014 been to eliminate the virus from our community. It has been to slow the spread to levels that do not exceed the capacity of our local health care system. And we have managed to avoid a tidal wave of cases that could have overwhelmed our limited resources. As a result, Aspen Valley Hospital has had time to create, enact and fine-tune its strategy to fight the virus and stock up on critical supplies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The virus exists, and it\u2019s not going anywhere.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">FACT: While the rate of spread has slowed just like our economy, it will indeed ramp up when we leave our homes and welcome \u201coutsiders\u201d back to Aspen. That\u2019s the reality of the situation. We cannot keep the virus out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The goal moving forward is to acquire what\u2019s called \u201cherd immunity,\u201d where so many people in a community become immune to an infectious disease that it stops the disease from spreading.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">FACT: There is only one way to acquire herd immunity today and that\u2019s for people to obtain the antibodies as a result of having the virus. At some point, there may be a vaccine, but for now it doesn\u2019t exist. Without immunity, one remains vulnerable to the virus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">I heard this from the board of health\u2019s chief medical officer, the impressive Dr. Kim Levin, who also is a physician in our local ER. Thank you, Dr. Levin, for your wisdom, your plain-speak and for clarifying what all the bureaucrats are afraid to say: While the gradual loosening of public health orders will certainly lead to more cases, this is exactly what we must do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As we tip-toe around which steps to take locally when the current public health order to stay at home expires April 30, recent discussions ultimately yielded a reprieve for bike shops and office supply stores, golf courses, landscapers and construction sites, but not without intense debates about capping holes on the greens so people won\u2019t have to reach in for their golf balls and stringent requirements for temperature-taking and hand-washing at construction sites. At this rate, we might be open by Christmas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The hot topic remains testing. The focus today is on whether you currently have the virus. But have you managed to get tested and been found to have the antibodies? Lucky you. The current assumption is that if you have the antibodies, you\u2019re safe now and can carry on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But if you don\u2019t, then what?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s pretty straightforward. You are going to have to take personal responsibility and make some difficult choices. On one hand, you know what\u2019s worked to this point in time so you can continue to do that, but that doesn\u2019t get you out of the house and back to work. On the other hand, knowing you\u2019re vulnerable and going \u201cout there\u201d definitely presents a conundrum. These are not decisions the government is going to make for you for much longer. The government cannot keep the virus out, nor can it keep everyone healthy. Aspen the nanny state would love to monitor you, your health, temperature and whereabouts in real time, as well as those of our visitors, but this isn\u2019t China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Next weekend, when the public health order expires, it\u2019s time to lay out rational and actionable steps to get this resort tourism economy moving. If it\u2019s OK to shop at City Market, then it should be OK to shop at all retail stores in Aspen. If we\u2019re allowing construction workers past our pearly gates, then we shouldn\u2019t quarantine second-home owners. Our hospital is operating well below capacity so let\u2019s start scheduling elective procedures. As the weather improves, outdoor dining becomes increasingly viable for shuttered restaurants. Dog-grooming services are the first step toward personal ones. And as for lodges and hotels, many are closed as planned for offseason, but for those that wish to open, let them. Again, how is any of this much different from shopping at Wal-Mart?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In short, elected officials, let\u2019s look for ways to open up, not for reasons to stay closed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Put your mask on, social distance and let\u2019s get out and about!<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\">Email at <a href=\"mailto:TheRedAntEM@comcast.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TheRedAntEM@comcast.net<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/opinion\/elizabeth-milias-lets-get-this-aspen-party-started\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You know it\u2019s been an eventful week in quarantine when you\u2019ve listened in on several public meetings including the Pitkin County board of health, cleaned out your closets and celebrated with a road trip to Wal-Mart. We have collectively done a bang-up job of staying home and protecting ourselves over the past six weeks, despite [&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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 23:25:22","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":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}