In case you missed it, there was another significant development last night. Gov. Polis released an executive order suspending in-person teaching for all Colorado schools from March 23 through April 17. I know most of us don’t have school-aged kids, but the larger point is that Colorado’s quarantine just got a whole lot more strict. And as one of those with school-aged kids, life just got a whole lot more hectic!
Timeline
Much has happened since my last COVID-19 post on March 12th. By the way, I changed the name of that post. It’s become clear COVID-19 will be a top-of-mind issue for a while, so all posts will have “COVID-19” in the title for easier searching. Some of the more notable developments include:
- March 13. El Paso County woman becomes first COVID-19 death in Colorado.
- March 14. Governor Polis closes ski resorts for one week. Simplifya implements self-quarantine for the week of March 16-20. CDPHE reports 101 positive cases.
- March 15. CDC recommends – for the next eight weeks – events with 50 people or more be canceled. CDPHE reports 800+ tested, 130 positive cases.
- March 16. Denver issues order to cancel all events with 50+ people. Loveland Ski Area closed for the season. CDPHE reports 1,216 tested, 160 positive cases.
- March 17. Vail Resorts closed for the season. CU cancels all commencement ceremonies. Weld County man becomes second death in Colorado. State launches COVID-19 website – good data here!
- March 18. Simon Property Group closes all of its retail properties nationwide, include three malls in Colorado. Denver cancels Cinco de Mayo celebration. Governor Polis closes schools through April 17. CDPHE reports 2,328 tested, 216 positive cases.
Reason for Optimism
Panic isn’t really an option for the COO. I’m supposed to be thoroughly grounded in reality, laser-focused on the facts, a model of objectivity. A crisis makes this difficult, but not impossible. So while I’m compelled to transparently share the doom and gloom timeline above, I also want to give you a reason for optimism. It’s this graphic I found on 9News.com.
My takeaway is that while the number of tests conducted has increased quite a bit, and is naturally weighted toward areas where more cases have been identified (e.g., Eagle, Pitkin, and Gunnison counties), the number of positive cases has not increased proportionately. Granted, we need to do a lot more testing, but the early results look promising. The combination of quarantines, better hygiene, better sanitization, and social-distancing tactics appear to be having the desired impact of “flattening the curve.”
Thank you Rick!!