Pitkin County’s next public health order goes into effect on May 9 as part of a three-phase plan to return to normal life. Thursday, the county board of health said it could move to the second phase as early as May 27, if certain criteria are met.
The second phase could include a return to sports, schools and larger gatherings. The board of health discussed requesting a waiver from the state to resume 30% capacity of dine-in service at restaurants as early as May 20.
To move to that second phase, Pitkin County must first meet five criteria:
- A sustained decrease in cases
- Hospitals can safely treat patients without using crisis standards of care
- Testing for all people with COVID-19 symptoms
- Active and timely monitoring for all known cases
- Clear protocols in place to require social distancing
Rates of COVID-19 in the county may already be going down, according to Dave Ressler, Aspen Valley Hospital CEO. After two weeks of community testing, the hospital administered 38 tests to people with symptoms and only two came back positive. In Thursday’s Pitkin County community meeting, he said some tests have not yet produced results.
