COVID Updates Governor Polis March 22, 2020March 23, 2020 In an effort to continue to provide you with an official update from the Governor’s office, below includes the latest steps we are taking to respond to the Coronavirus threat. As the Governor mentioned today, this situation grows more serious by the day, and we must adjust our response accordingly. Scientists and public health experts continue to tell us that we are facing a choice between people’s livelihood and their lives. If we do not do more to slow the spread of this virus, our health care system will be overwhelmed, and doctors will not be able to treat every patient who needs it. The most valuable resource we have is time and we need to do more to slow down the spread of the virus. We appreciate your support in helping to spread these updates to your network. Quick Links to Stay Up to Date Topline Update As of this today we have 591 cases, 6 deaths, 58 hospitalizations out of 5,436 completed tests. We are grateful for the hardworking men and women from the Army Corps of Engineers that arrived this weekend to help support our healthcare capacity surge and to the hardworking men and women from FEMA who are finally on the job here in Colorado and working with our Emergency Operations Center. Executive Order of 50% reduction for all non-critical workplaces Today the Governor announced an executive order for all non critical-workplaces to reduce their in-person workforce by fifty percent (50%). The order directs all Colorado employers to implement tele-work capabilities to the greatest extent possible. If tele-work is not practical or possible, employers are encouraged to stagger work schedules to reduce the proximity of workers during work hours and to keep employees on payroll as we endure this temporary disruption to commerce together. This Executive Order does not apply to any employer that can certify that employees are no closer than six feet from one another during any part of their work hours. The Governor has directed CDPHE to develop and issue a certification method, with appropriate penalties for supplying false information that allows employers to demonstrate that they are in compliance with this directive. For more information on obtaining the certification, please email [email protected] with the SUBJECT as “Business Exemption Request.” Here are the critical workplaces that are exempted:
Please see FAQs document that we have developed on this order Click Here. Additional Social Distancing Guidance The Governor’s Executive Order also contains even more guidance for social distancing. Coloradans are urged to stay home except for the following reasons:
Additionally, the executive order urges Coloradans to try to limit those essential activities outside of their homes as much as possible. For instance, instead of going to get groceries twice a week, folks should go out and get twice as much food once a week. It will help limit everyone’s exposure and save lives. Call for Donations This is a time when we all need to do our part to protect our fellow Coloradans. Thank you to all who are stepping up already. Some ways that you can help:
To donate PPE keep the bare minimum amount of supply you need to conduct essential or life saving functions, and contribute the remainder to our state's COVID19 response. If you have small quantities of supplies to contribute, between 1-25 boxes of personal protective equipment (i.e., six boxes of protective eye glasses) we ask that you donate these supplies to yourlocal public health department, local community health center, community clinic, or local hospital. If you have more than 25 boxes, or the pieces of larger equipment such as anesthesia machines or ventilators, we ask that you fill outTHIS FORM, so we can determine if these items are needed in our state’s emergency supply. Once we receive your form entry, we will follow up with you to determine next steps. Please completethe form as soon as possible, but no later than March 26. Innovation Response Team Task Force The Governor announced today that we are standing up a new division in our Emergency Operations Center to help us continue to develop innovative plans to respond to COVID-19. The Innovation Response Team Task Force, will be tasked with the following objectives:
The IRT is being led on an interim basis by Matt Blumberg, a technology entrepreneur who founded and led Broomfield-based email technology company Return Path for the past 20 years. Sarah Tuneburg, CEO of Geospezia, a company that deals with risk assessment, will eventually be the leader for the team. An important component of the IRT’s work is private sector partnerships, which is why Boulder-based Venture Capitalist Brad Feld has been appointed as the Chairman of the IRT’s Private Sector Task Force. Feld will coordinate corporate and private-sector volunteer activities in a series of specific areas, including Manufacturing, TeleMedicine, and at-home Service delivery. Additionally, Noel Ginsberg has stepped in to help by using his entire network and his companies to start manufacturing PPE right here in Colorado to keep our health care workers safe and save lives. If you are a private sector company who wants to partner with this team on acquiring testing, critical constrained medical supplies, technology, or support services for people who are isolated go to HelpColoradoNow.org for information on how your company can be part of the solution and save the lives of your neighbors, your loved ones, maybe even yourself. Clarity on Testing We know other countries have fared far better than the U.S. on being prepared to combat this virus, and they have done it through mass testing and isolating those who test positive, versus quarantining a whole society which is what we are seeing in Italy and in some states in the U.S.
Our mass testing strategy will rely upon the most clinically relevant tests. There are two ways to test for COVID-19. One method, known as RT-PCR, tests for the presence of the virus using a nose swab. The other, known as serological, tests for the body's response to the virus, often with a prick of blood. RT-PCR tests can tell if a person is infected much sooner than a serological test, making it relevant for clinical decision making, diagnosis, and isolation. While Serological tests will play a role in public health surveillance and epidemiological investigation, we will need to use the RT-PCR based tests -- nasal and oral swabs -- to keep people safe and limit the spread. Our teams are working hard at procuring and coordinating deployment of both kinds of tests. |