Aspen Valley Hospital is now testing over 16 people per day for COVID-19, and as a result, has bumped its status to "Cautious" on the hospital's Capacity Matrix. That means the hospital is concerned about rising numbers of COVID-19 cases locally and its capacity to handle an influx in patients.
The hospital's capacity gauge is made up of three levels: Comfortable, Cautious, and Concerning.
Aspen Valley Hospital said they're still seeing low admittance rates to the Emergency Department and Respiratory Evaluation Center, and that inpatients are still hovering at the hospital's "Comfortable" level for the time being. The hospital has conducted over 1,100 tests with a positive test result rate of 7 percent. That number has started to rise, and hospital officials said they anticipate an increased demand for evaluation, emergency and supportive care within the next few weeks.
County health officials are reminding residents and visitors to follow public health protocols and socially distance over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Current information and data about COVID-19 locally can be found on Pitkin County's website.
