SAN LUIS VALLEY -
We are seeing COVID-19 spread through households, and from there out into the community as household members go to work, school, and social activities. If one household member is sick, do your best to keep that person separated from other household members as much as possible until their isolation period is over. Have them sleep in a separate room and use a separate bathroom if possible. Frequent hand washing and wearing a mask in the household during this time will also help reduce the chance of others in the household becoming sick. Remember, household members need to also be in quarantine until it has been 14 days from their last exposure.
Symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to severe, and may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. A partial list of possible symptoms: Cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. Fever may or may not be present.
Recently, San Luis Valley public health officials have reported that at least three of our new active cases are reinfections. It is important to remember that it is still possible to become reinfected after having survived a previous case of COVID-19. Even if you have already recovered from all symptoms, please remember to take basic precautions including hand washing and wearing a mask.
These simple actions will help reduce the spread of COVID-19. It is occasionally difficult to maintain these precautions as we have spent so many months battling this pandemic and people are becoming frustrated and emotionally exhausted. Please remember to be kind to each other and to the professionals who are dedicating their time to the frontlines of this effort.
Although people of all ages, races, ethnicity, and gender are at risk of contracting COVID-19, the SLV has seen a high rate of the illness in people age 20-29. All of the COVID-19-related deaths in the San Luis Valley have been in those over 50 years of age. This data is represented in the chart below.
Statewide data shows that 55 percent of COVID-19 positive individuals are female, 44 percent male, and 1 percent are unknown or not reported.
The SLV currently has 217 known active COVID-19 cases.
Alamosa County- 114
Conejos County - 25
Costilla County - 14
Mineral County - 0
Rio Grande County - 25
Saguache County - 39
Numbers are updated weekdays at https://www.slvphp.com/slv-regional-covid-dial/
Active cases represent the total number of individuals who have a confirmed positive case and are currently being monitored under isolation by public health. Individuals are released from the active case list as their symptoms have passed and they have been isolated for the appropriate amount of time. New cases are being added each day to most of our San Luis Valley counties, which means that COVID-19 is still spreading in the area.
To pursue testing for COVID-19, or for medical questions, call;
Rio Grande Hospital 719-657-4990
SLVHealth Respiratory Clinic 719-589-3000 ext. 9
Valley-Wide Health Systems 719-589-3658 ext. 4 (M-F), 719-589-2562 (Sa/Su)
Adams State University will hold a free community testing event on November 20 and 21. To pre-register please visit https://www.adams.edu/safe-return/testing.
The Colorado Spirit Crisis Counseling Program (CCP) offers community-based crisis counseling, help with disaster coping strategies, education, and more. Get information at https://www.slvbhg.org/services-and-programs/coloradospirit/ or call 719-587-5673.
For general (non-medical) SLV COVID-19 related questions: slvepr@alamosacounty.org, 719-480-8719