With the provision of a local COVID-19 case in Eagle County, officials are preparing to move to the high-risk phase of the state’s COVID-19 dial by 5 p.m. Monday.
The spread of the virus in Eagle County is at its highest level since the onset of the epidemic. In the state’s dial-orange phase, local rest restaurants, rentals, gyms, retail stores, .faces and personal service businesses can only operate at 25% capacity or less than 50 people. The same is true for indoor events.
A recurring pattern
Eagle County’s director of public health, Health Harmon, told community leaders during a call by the Vail Chamber and Business Association on Thursday morning that the incidence rate of COVID-19 transmission is currently higher than the county’s previous two spikes in March and July.
“We need to stop this and go down,” Harmon said. “That window is getting narrower. We’ve done this before. We did this in August. It is really important for all of us to have a healthy winter with less disruption. ”
If the county number continues to grow, the return of the stay-at-home order looms in the red phase of the dial.
Harman said virus transmission in the county already tends to go up during Halloween week, which only increased in July, as the county’s previous spike came in the wake of the July holiday.
Speaking on Thursday, he said that 0% of the new cases are residents between the ages of 19 and 35. And in a county email update on Thursday, he wrote: “Halloween has shown that we can and must do better. We continue to investigate multiple holiday-related parties that have led to many outbreaks of COVID-19. “
These trends follow national and state trends as the virus has erupted across the country. On Thursday, Colorado’s top epidemic said the state’s creation is getting better.
Harmen said residents have three to four weeks to turn things around for a successful start to the ski season. That means making some tough choices when it comes to Thanksgiving.
“The safest choice is to have a Thanksgiving event really with your own home.”
Under current public health guidelines, home gatherings are limited to less than 10 and no more than two homes.
In a similar call, Will Cook, CEO and president of Wild Health, echoed Harmon’s call, saying the state’s hospital system was “extremely stressful” at any stage since the onset of the epidemic.
He stressed that the consequences of second-degree epidemics such as food security, economic hardship, substance abuse and mental health issues would only intensify if the county was forced to close again and schools closed for individual education. .
“This is not a political issue,” Cook said. “That’s the reality we’re facing.”
Prioritize case investigation
In a text Friday, Eagle County officials said case investigators are now beyond their capacity to detect every local case, with more than 100 cases reported in two days. Case investigations are being prioritized based on age and occupation (if reported), and possible outbreaks (if reported), schools and childcare. Once investigators work through priority groups, they will proceed to contact the remaining cases.
As with many new cases, county residents are also being asked to take action without waiting for public health intervention separately if you are sick or testing positive for 10 days and if you have covid- like symptoms or tests positive.
County operational change
Increased transmission of COVID-19 in the community, as well as in response to a request from the Governor’s Office, The county will restrict personal interactions to county facilities starting Monday but will continue to provide services by phone and / or via online.
Office fee- and department-specific changes County offices and contact information is available at http://www.eaglecounty.us. This precaution will be implemented by the end of November, after which it will be re-evaluated.
Community information and resources in response to COVID-19 are available at http://www.eaglecountycovid.org.
Weil operational changes
The city of Wiley is also making additional adjustments to its office fee-based operations since Monday.
To keep conversations between non-household members to a minimum, town employees are instructed to work as remotely as possible. Community members are asked to do business with the town by phone and / or through online online services available. All necessary services including transport, library, reception center, building inspections, parking sales and police and fire will be operated uninterruptedly. Access to all interior public spaces requires face painting and an outdoor mask zone has been set up in the main areas of the village.
Municipal operations are available as follows until further notice:
- The Well Municipal Building (east side) is open to the public with limited services. Please call 970-479-2100 to confirm and make every effort to conduct your business online at http://www.vailgov.com. This The front desk is open for personal assistance from 10am to 3pm Monday-Friday for social inquiries, payments etc. Call 970-479-2100 for inquiries.
- The police front counter is open for personal service Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Call 970-479-2208.
- The Parking Pass sales office will be open for personal services Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Call 970-479-2104 for inquiries.
- Municipal court services are available by calling 970-479-2132 or by appointment.
- All other offices are by appointment only.
- The conference meeting room and council chamber, which are generally available for use by nonprofits, HOs and public agency groups, will be closed to the public until further notice.
- The community development building (west side) is open only by appointment. This includes access to the planning, admissions and housing departments, as well as the functions of the environmental, economic development and housing departments. All development applications will be processed in a timely manner. Permit issuance and permission payment will continue through webit and phone through operation. Individual visits for any reason can be scheduled by contacting Shelley Bellam by phone at 970-479-2325 or by email at [email protected].. To request a building inspection, please email [email protected]. The conference room is not available for public use until further notice.
- The Vail Public Library will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., including personal services: access to public Internet computers, wireless and a variety of library collections. Supporters are limited to one hour per day. There is no access to the community room, tech studio or children’s room. Curbside pickups are encouraged and virtual services will continue. Call 970-479-2187 or visit http://www.vaillibrary.com.
- Reception centers in Vile Village and Lionshead are open daily from 9am to 5pm; The Lionshead location will be open November 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- The Vail Transportation Terminal building is open daily from 6 to 2 a.m. for transit information, public restrooms and La Cantina food service.
- Vail Village and Lionshead parking structures are open. Paid parking begins November 20-20 with the start of the 2020-2021 ski / ride season.
- Reservations for use at either the Donovan Pavilion or the Grand View in Lionshead can be made by calling 70-477-3699. Site visits will only be scheduled by appointment.
- Visit www.vailrec.om for updates on Dobson Ice Arena, Weil Nordic Center, etc.
- All Well Board and Commission meetings will be held remotely until further notice.
