Subject: SLV Public Health Daily Update

Date: May 7, 2020

SAN LUIS VALLEY – Our numbers changed again today due to positive test results and contact tracing investigation. Saguache County Public Health received notification of 2 COVID-19 tests. During the contact tracing investigation, 7 additional close contacts were identified with COVID-19 symptoms, for a total of 9 new cases for the county. Alamosa County Public Health is continuing the investigation of the outbreak reported yesterday, and additional testing is anticipated in conjunction with the outbreak investigation.  San Luis Valley case counts are updated every weekday at the SLV Emergency website, www.slvemergency.org/slv-covid-19. 

Contact tracing is the investigation of close contacts of a person with an infectious disease. It is one of the most effective tools we have for preventing the spread of disease, especially as businesses begin to open back up and more people are going out of their homes for essential activities. When a person is identified as carrying an infectious disease, that person can be isolated until they are no longer infectious. Close contacts of the confirmed case also stay away from others for 14 days (quarantine) during the time they could spread the disease unknowingly, and while they watch for symptoms to appear. 

There has been a lot of information shared recently about properly wearing a mask when you encounter other people, but what about gloves? For the general public, washing your hands frequently is often more effective than wearing gloves, especially if you are not familiar with wearing them. Like N95 masks, wearing gloves without proper knowledge of how to use them can provide ineffective protection or actually increase the chances of infection. 

In the Safer at Home Public Health Order 20-24, the governor expanded requirements on appropriate glove-wearing for employees. This is intended to provide an extra layer of protection for the employees who serve customers. Specifics on requirements for different kinds of businesses can be found on Colorado’s Safer at Home website at https://covid19.colorado.gov/safer-at-home.