FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2020
Contact: Katie Yergensen, Montrose County Media Relations Manager
kyergensen@montrosecounty.net, (970) 964-8701
COVID-19 Testing in Montrose County
Montrose, CO— Due to a shortage of COVID-19 testing capacity across the US, and especially in Southwest Colorado, there have not been enough tests conducted in Montrose County to definitively conclude that COVID-19 is not circulating in our community.
“We understand that our community is concerned and we want to be as transparent as possible throughout this incident. We know residents are worried about testing and we want to provide as much information as we possibly can,” said Commissioner Roger Rash. “These are trying times and we need to pull together to stay healthy and help out each other.”
Therefore to protect your health, Montrose County is operating as if COVID-19 is present and circulating in our community now or will be very soon. We are emphasizing social distancing strategies to slow its spread. Try to maintain a distance of six feet when interacting with other individuals outside of your immediate family. Examples of social distancing include:
• Staying home.
• Not shaking hands. Instead, bump fists or elbows.
• Increasing distance between people to six feet to help reduce spread.
• Reducing the number of large group gatherings or activities.
• Keeping children and teens from gathering in other public places.
There has been an increase in inquiries to the public information line, and we want to let you know the number of tests that have been collected from this area. Based on the information made available to us, so far this number is approximately 42 as of this morning. Some of these tests are still being processed. We are working as hard as we can to bring more testing to this community.
CALL FIRST: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please contact your primary care provider by phone first. The provider will be able to determine if you meet the criteria necessary for the test and often will be able to perform the test at their practice if supplies are available. If you do not have a primary care provider, please reach out to the Public Information line at 970-252-4545 and press option “2” to be connected with public health. Please note that calls will be answered from 8am to 6pm Monday through Saturday at this time. For calls outside of that time frame, please reach out to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for general questions regarding COVID-19 at 303-389-1687 or 1-877-462-2911, for answers in many languages, or email them at COHELP@RMPDC.org for answers in English. The state hotline cannot provide testing results, order testing, or clear individuals for work. Please remember, 911 should be used for medical emergencies only. For updates on COVID-19, please visit montrosecounty.net/covid19 or https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/2019-novel-coronavirus.