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Boulder County reports one new coronavirus death; state shows no new outbreaks

Daily Times-Call - 2/18/2021

Feb. 18—For the second week in a row, state data showed that there were no new reported coronavirus outbreaks in Boulder County, while two previously reported outbreaks were resolved. Meanwhile, officials are continuing to fight an outbreak at the Boulder County Jail.

County data showed that another resident with COVID-19 has died. According to Boulder County Public Health spokesperson Chana Goussetis, the person was in their 50s. They died on Tuesday and were not living in a long-term care facility. The death brings the county's total death toll to 245.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which updates its weekly outbreak report on Wednesdays, reported that there are 31 active Boulder County outbreaks. An outbreak is when there are two or more positive cases in an office or facility in 14 days.

State data shows that there were two resolved outbreaks in Boulder County this past week. An outbreak is resolved when 28 days have passed with no new illnesses. MorningStar of Boulder, an assisted living and memory care facility, resolved its outbreak Wednesday, according to the report.

The Academy University Hill, a senior living community, resolved its outbreak on Feb. 10, state data showed.

Boulder County Jail's outbreak has remained active since December, Melanie Dreiling, Boulder County Sheriff's Office health services administrator, wrote in an email Wednesday.

Two modules are currently impacted, with nine coronavirus cases identified in one and four cases identified in the other.

"All individuals in impacted modules have been placed in quarantine and regular testing is performed on all staff and inmates as well as daily symptom screening," Dreiling wrote. "All individuals with COVID-19 are promptly isolated away from the rest of the module. Any staff who are identified through contact tracing as coming in close contact with an individual with COVID-19 are quarantined and excluded from work."

Laundry and food services haven't been impacted at this time, Dreiling said. Inmates who have recovered from COVID-19 are handling laundry services.

"Our laundry is handled by inmates who have recovered from COVID and have antibodies against reinfection," she wrote. "For SARS-CoV-2, reinfection is uncommon during the initial 90 days after symptom onset of the preceding infection."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that cases of reinfection have been reported, but are rare. Goussetis has said during prior reporting that people who have had the virus are considered immune to reinfection for 90 days. However, she said that Boulder County has seen 22 cases of reinfection.

The jail is also continuing to quarantine new inmates for 14 days.

Boulder County sheriff's Division Chief Jeff Goetz said an "overcrowding issue comes into play due to our quarantine practices."

"As new arrests occur, we run out of space to keep our 14 day protocols in place," Goetz wrote in an email. "One of the modules under quarantine status is where most of the new intakes go once they reach their 14 day clearance. They can't go there until that module is clear of COVID. Even though the count is close to three hundred right now, it might just as well be 500. We are running into housing logistic issues trying to keep everyone else clear of the virus."

The jail's population as of Wednesday afternoon was 291 and has been steadily rising in the last six weeks, Goetz said.

"Until we have the vaccines approved for inmates, the jail will continue the work of keeping inmates safe from exposure," Dreiling wrote. "As the Sheriff has stated previously, we are hoping the one dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine will get approved sooner than later to address this population."

The 95 new coronavirus cases reported by the county Wednesday bring the total case number to 18,359. The seven-day average percent positive rate was 3.6% and the seven-day average for the number of new cases among residents is 50.4.

During Longmont City Council members' meeting on Tuesday night, Boulder County Public Health Executive Director Jeff Zayach said that the county's hospitalizations have remained stable and that roughly 70% of the county's 70 and up population, which consists of about 30,000 people, has been vaccinated.

As of Wednesday, there were 27 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Boulder County. A total of 517 Boulder County residents have been hospitalized due to the virus.

Mike Stratton, Boulder County Public Health spokesperson, said during data checks on Tuesday, it was discovered that five long-term care facility staff members, originally assigned to Boulder County, were actually residents of surrounding counties. Stratton said that's likely the reason people may have seen the total number of Boulder County residents hospitalized drop on Tuesday.

Updated Boulder County Public Health data on Tuesday showed that 20,019 people have been received a full course of the vaccine and 21,616 people have been given at least one dose.

Stratton said while there's "no specific prediction," on when residents will not have to wear masks, the "general consensus," is that people may be able to unmask by late fall of this year. That will hinge, however, on a sufficient number of people in the state being vaccinated. Stratton said he didn't immediately have information on how much of the state would have to be vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus and make unmasking a reality.

At the University of Colorado Boulder there were 12 positive test results discovered during testing Tuesday, according to the university's dashboard. There were also 208 diagnostic tests and 1,505 monitoring tests taken. There were seven on-campus isolation spaces in use. Since Jan. 4, there have been 298 total positive test results; 4,360 diagnostic tests completed and 24,188 monitoring tests.

The Boulder Valley School District reported 10 active cases and 61 quarantines among 56 students and five staff, according to the district's online dashboard.

In the St. Vrain Valley School District there are 23 active cases among 21 students and two staff, the district's online dashboard showed. Since the start of the school year, there have been 796 cases among 578 students and 218 staff.

Statewide, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported 416,174 cases. Among the cases, there have been 5,838 deaths, and of those, there have been 5,656 deaths due to COVID-19. Of Colorado's more than 5.7 million population, there have been 2,510,639 people tested.

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Boulder Valley School District cases and quarantines:

BVSD elementary schools:

— Creekside: 1 active case; 22 students and 1 staff quarantined

BVSD middle schools:

— Centennial: 1 active case; 7 students quarantined

— Summit: 1 active case; 11 students quarantined

BVSD high schools:

Arapahoe Ridge: 1 active case; 1 student and 1 staff quarantined

— Fairview: 2 active cases; 5 students and 3 staff members quarantined

— Monarch: 2 active cases; 5 students quarantined

— New Vista: 1 active case; 5 students quarantined

Other campuses:

— Horizons K8: 1 active case

St. Vrain Valley School District active cases

SVVSD elementary school:

— Centennial: 1

— Legacy: 1

Longmont Estates: 1

Prairie Ridge: 1

— Red Hawk: 3

SVVSD middle school:

Coal Ridge: 1

Mead: 1

Trail Ridge: 1

— Westview: 1

SVVSD high school:

Mead: 2

Niwot: 1

Silver Creek: 1

— Skyline: 1

Other campuses:

LaunchED Virtual Academy: 2

Main Street: 1

— Timberline PK-8: 4

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