COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Dealing with a Coronavirus Pandemic, El Paso County Public Health has made maps available for people to see how close the spread is to them – but are local military installations that prevent accurate mapping of the disease ?
A study by KRDO NewsChannel 13 revealed a missing piece of COVID-19 data, and some parents are worried that could prevent school districts from having a full snapshot of the local distribution when deciding to reopen classes.
The El Paso County Department of Health said Thursday that it is not allowed to release COVID-19 case numbers in public with zip codes when it comes to military installations.
The issue stems from an order from the Department of Defense, aimed at protecting national security. It prevents local health departments from finding out if someone is testing positive on a military basis.
However, KRDO found that it is not only military members of active duty who test on a regular basis. Military couples, children and retirees are eligible to test based.
It is an issue that mainly concerns parents who live in a school district with a large military population, such as Melissa Ellenberger.
Ellenberger spent the summer navigating how her daughter will spend her seniors attending District 49. She became more apprehensive when she learned that D49 may not have all the data from COVID-19 for some of her students with ties to the army.
Ellenberger, a military woman, said she understands security concerns about releasing COVID-19 information on active-duty members, but asks if it is necessary to withhold school district information about her dependency.
‘If you’re concerned with the health and well – being of our children, you really need to take the safest course. And if we do not have all the numbers, it’s even more important to be wrong on the side of caution, “Ellenberger said.
Peterson Air Force Base told KRDO that about 25,000 people, or about 3% of El Paso County’s population, have access to their COVID-19 test site. Air Force officials said all tests are submitted to health hospital officials and note that the base has a lower position of coronavirus than the city or province. Fort Carson had not provided any information through our request since Thursday.
To be clear, the tests performed at military installations are included in the total count in El Paso County, according to Public Health. Health officials do not break down results by specific zip codes as they do with tests on other sites.
‘Whether a student is military or non-military, if there have been exhibits in a school or in a daycare, we will work directly with that facility to ensure they take the appropriate steps to send children home.’ t may risk COVID developing and becoming infected, or work for notice or determination that it is still safe to continue with personal learning, “said Kimberly Pattison with the El Paso County Health Department.
Despite concerns from some parents, local districts with ties to the Colorado Springs military community say they are confident in the process.
District 49 told KRDO 23% of its students are affiliated with the military.
When asked about the lack of data, a D49 spokesperson sent us this statement.
“We rely on our partners at El Paso County Public Health to keep us informed with the best possible information to support our decision to restore personal learning. We also rely on our partners in the military to honor their commitment. to be good neighbors to the Pikes Peak region and to work with leaders like EPCPH to ensure that critical information is shared and available in the interests of public health and safety.
We are confident that both EPCPH and our military partners act only with the highest level of integrity in the interests of public safety, and
District 49 is confident that we will receive in-depth information to guide our most important decisions about safely returning to personal learning. “-David Nancarrow, District 49
District 20 said that near one in five of its student families has a link to the Army as well as the Army Army.
District leaders say they are working closely with health officials to monitor the ever-changing circumstances during the pandemic.
“About 20% of our district’s families are connected to our local military installations. Therefore, white COVID-19 tests of data from military bases included in local health reports provide us with a holistic snapshot of the region’s infection rates “
-Allison Cortez with Academy District 20
In District 8, 70% of students have ties to the military. The district said it is in constant communication with officials at Fort Carson
“We have a strong and close working relationship with the leadership and Fort Carson of Fort Carson and communicate regularly with them and have historically related to many issues that now include a pandemic. We are in regular communication with them. We believe we have safety protocols to keep our students and staff safe. “
-Christy McGee with Fountain-Fort Carson District 8.
Hospital officials said despite not reporting military numbers via zip code, they will use their knowledge of military COVID-19 cases to inform school districts.
“This is a community project where everyone should be involved. That it is not just the knowledge about the data. It is important to make sure that when you have a student, you examine them for symptoms before they go. And that you keep a low threshold if you choose to keep your student at home, ”Pattison said.
But for some parents, that missing piece of publicly available data could help diminish their spirits.
“I’m nervous about sending my child back without knowing what the real numbers are, versus a potential number of numbers that we do know and then a whole bunch of hidden numbers,” Ellenberger said.
