As Chaffee County residents head outside to enjoy warmer weather, Chaffee County Public Health Director Andrea Carlstrom reminds everyone that safer-at-home orders are still in effect, both locally and at the state level. 

George Blake, 99, has pledged to take 100 walks before his 100th birthday to raise money for Chaffee County Community Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund.

Andrea Carlstrom, Chaffee County public health director and COVID-19 incident commander, said the most recent positive case of COVID-19 was tested outside the county, and Public Health is trying to reach that person to start an investigation.

On March 15, Corrine Foreman’s business — Corrine’s Car Service — came to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chaffee County held steady at 68 positive or probable cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths, Chaffee County Public Health reported Tuesday.

Cause+Medic, the first retail storefront of a CBD skincare line distributed nationally, will open officially later this month on East Main Street, although the store opened its doors tentatively, like many businesses, last weekend.

Effective now, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center will be gradually reintroducing in-person, elective services. Providers will split their time equally between face-to-face clinic visits and telehealth visits.

The 99th annual rodeo scheduled for June 13th and 14th has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

Chaffee County Public Health and Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center will partner to offer free COVID-19 testing for Chaffee County residents from 10 a.m.-noon Thursday at HRRMC, 1000 Rush Drive.

“Safer at Home is not a return to normalcy, which means that Coloradans should continue to be responsible, stay at home when possible and wear masks when in public,” Gov. Jared Polis said today.

On March 20, Gov. Polis signed an Executive Order addressing this issue and is now extending and strengthening that order.

2-1-1, Colorado’s free information hotline, is a critical service for many Coloradans and during the COVID-19 pandemic the line has seen a sharp increase in calls. Today, in addition to providing guidance on emergency assistance, transportation, housing support, and other services, 2-1-1 will now be answering questions about worker protections and health care discrimination as more Coloradans begin returning to work.

This week Gov. Jared Polis moved the state from a stay-at-home to a safer-at-home status. Coloradans are still urged to stay home but continue to avoid unnecessary travel and visiting our mountain communities.

Chaffee County Public Health is partnering with local healthcare providers to pilot an innovative contact tracing protocol as the county begins reopening.

Participating local healthcare providers will begin the contact tracing process each time they perform a COVID-19 test by collecting a list of the close contacts of the patient. They will then pass that information to public health staff if the test comes back positive.

KW Construction & Restoration delivered an assortment of canned food, fresh meat and hand sanitizer to the Arkansas Valley Christian Mission Friday, as well as to St. George Episcopal Church in Leadville.

Chaffee County Public Health reported two people died Wednesday at Columbine Manor Care Center.

The 4th Rapids & Grass Beer Festival, which was scheduled to return to Buena Vista on the weekend of July 4, has been canceled to prevent the spread of COVID-19, festival organizers announced last Wednesday through the blog Rad Craft Beer.

No new positive COVID-19 tests have occurred in Chaffee County since April 11, Andrea Carlstrom, Chaffee County public health director and COVID-19 incident commander, said Monday.

In response to the recent announcement by Gov. Jared Polis that Colorado will be moving from a Stay at Home executive order to a Safer at Home model on April 27, Chaffee County Public Health announced in a press release late Friday afternoon the county has already been moving in that direction.

Chaffee County Public Health Director Andrea Carlstrom announced in Thursday’s Facebook update that all of the positive and probable COVID-19 cases in Chaffee County that are not related to Columbine Manor Care Center have reported recovery.

Chaffee County Public Health reported as of 4 p.m. Thursday, there had been 11 deaths in Chaffee County due to COVID-19. The latest two deaths were probable cases related to Columbine Manor Care Center.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced in a press release Thursday afternoon that there had been a 1-day delay in paying benefit payments for those people who requested payment on their claims on April 19.

 The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a new public health order ordering workers in critical businesses and critical government functions to wear non-medical masks and gloves while at work to protect the health and welfare of the public.

For the last 3 weeks, former Buena Vista resident Ryan Taft, 21st Contracting Squadron COVID-19 response team member, and his neighbor, Chris Myers, have been producing and donating a piece of plastic that will help ease the tension of surgical masks medical professionals wear for over 12 hours a day.

“This is a marathon - not a sprint, which was the easy part - now we need to pace ourselves and these distancing measures need to be sustainable. We’re going to have to learn to live with coronavirus for a while, but we must live not with anxiety or fear, but with extreme caution, especially if you are a member of a vulnerable population." – Gov. Jared polis

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has launched a short survey designed to track symptoms of COVID-19, even if the person experiencing symptoms is unable or does not need to be tested.

Following testing of all 66 residents and several staff members at Columbine Manor Care Center, 41 of Chaffee County’s 58 cases of COVID-19 were reported to be associated with the care facility.

Andrea Carlstrom, Chaffee County Public Health director and incident commander for COVID-19, explained what a phased approach to lifting restrictions and reaching recovery from COVID-19 could look like Wednesday in her daily Facebook Live update.

Within the last month, Chaffee County Community Foundation has raised $280,000 and distributed more than $41,000 for financial assistance through its Emergency Response Fund (ERF).

For a community that bases much of its economy on being a destination for outdoor adventure seekers and holds many businesses that operate during the summer months and hibernate through the slower winter, stay at home orders can feel like an existential threat.

Rafting outfitters on the Arkansas River are moving forward under the expectation that the valley will have a season, albeit a potentially quieter one.

The Bureau of Land Management Royal Gorge Field Office is implementing fire restrictions in seven counties in central and eastern Colorado effective April 14.

At the Buena Vista school district board of directors’ first regularly scheduled meeting in April – about 3 weeks into the district’s move to at-home, remote instruction to reduce the spread of COVID-19 – district administrators shared what education in Buena Vista under quarantine was starting to look like.

In a Facebook post written today, FIBArk Board of Directors announced that the 2020 festival is cancelled.

 In the 14-page court filing, Chaney said two inmates at the prison tested positive for the virus last Wednesday.

   "The Constitution does not guarantee comfortable prisons, but it does demand safe ones," the 14-page court filing states. 

 In the 14-page court filing, Chaney said two inmates at the prison tested positive for the virus last Wednesday.

   "The Constitution does not guarantee comfortable prisons, but it does demand safe ones," the 14-page court filing states. 

Chaffee County Public Health issued a new countywide Public Health order effective 6 a.m. Friday through April 30.

Chaffee County Public Health reported Friday the fourth death in the county due to COVID-19, the third such death associated with Columbine Manor Care Center.

There is a rising need for pet food supplies available to those experiencing financial hardship. Ark-Valley Humane Society is aiming to help keep pet families together by alleviating financial hardship affecting pet ownership.

Acting regional forester Jennifer Eberlien announced and signed an order Tuesday to temporarily close developed recreation sites in the Rocky Mountain region to align with local, state and federal orders and guidelines.

As of April 9, Chaffee County has 39 confirmed positive tests and three deaths associated with COVID-19, Andrea Carlstrom, director of Chaffee County Public and Environmental Health reported Friday morning.

Greg Felt, Chaffee County commissioner, said a few words about maintaining kindness and respect on social media while expressing “valuable feedback”, during the daily update Thursday.

Zac Rogers, an assistant professor of operations and supply chain management in CSU’s College of Business, has spent a lot of time thinking about what it takes to get things from Point A to Point B.

Now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic as people stock up on the essentials to avoid repeated trips to the grocery store, many are stuck looking at near-empty shelves and wondering: Why it’s so hard to buy toilet paper?

DENVER – Gov. Jared Polis signed an Executive Order today extending the disaster emergency declaration for COVID-19 for an additional 30 days.

Chaffee County Public Health launched a Google form for reporting business or individual non-compliance with public health orders Wednesday, which was accessible via the COVID-19 Chaffee County Facebook Page briefly.

This week is National Public Health Week.

Chaffee County Public Health director and incident command for COVID 19, Andrea Carlstrom, said CCPH is working on an amended public health order for Chaffee County, which should be rolled out today.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions on mass gatherings, Ark-Valley Humane Society’s (AVHS) third annual Tails on the Trail 5k Run/Walk for Animals will be held virtually from now until May 17.

As of Thursday morning, CCPH is aware of 38 positive cases of COVID-19 in Chaffee County, four of those are probable cases not having received a positive test.

24 staff and residents associated with Columbine Manor have been reported as confirmed cases of COVID-19, 13 people of the 38 report having recovered. The deaths related to COVID-19 include two Columbine residents and one non-Columbine resident.

An upstart Buena Vista effort to provide families with meals during the COVID-19 shutdown of schools and many businesses raised $10,000 within 5 days of being announced and will be funded through April.

Inmate has been in quarantine since arriving in prison and did not enter the general population

The Now This Is Love Auction raised $116,514.88, according to a press release issued Tuesday by Scott Peterson, marketing director for the Chaffee County Visitors Bureau.

Chaffee County Public Health reported 34 positive or probable cases of COVID-19 in the county as of Tuesday in the county. That was up from 26 reported cases Monday.

In a Chaffee County Public Health daily update about COVID-19, Andrea Carlstrom, CCPH director and Incident Command for COVID-19, presented a summary of a new modeling report from Colorado School of Public Health: “Projections of the COVID-19 epidemic in Colorado under different social dista…

The Now This IS LOVE Auction raised $116,514.88, according to a press release issued Tuesday by Scott Peterson, marketing director for the Chaffee County Visitors Bureau.

As Buena Vista schools entered its second week of distance learning in compliance with self-isolation rules to curb the spread of COVID-19, the district school board held a special virtual meeting Monday to receive an update on school life during this strange time.

Between the governor’s stay at home order, now extended through April 26, and county health orders, questions have arisen as to what constitutes residency in the state of Colorado.

As the COVID-19 quarantine continues, residents of Buena Vista continue to hold on to hope and community values – and encourage them.

Chaffee County Public Health announced the county was closed to visitors last month in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 from neighboring counties and Front Range cities.

On April 3, Gov. Jared Polis announced the Colorado Mask Campaign, which hopes to have every Coloradan wearing a non-medical mask outside their homes, even if its just a scarf or bandana.

Solvista Health and Chaffee County Public Health create a survey to “check in” with community members and see how they are doing during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

Chaffee County Public Health reported a total of 26 positive cases (including probable cases) of COVID-19 in Chaffee County.

Chaffee County Public Health recommended the public use masks and cloth facial protection, reported the life span of COVID-19 on different surfaces and that healthcare stakeholders may explore antibody testing in Chaffee County.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has launched a new trail closure tracking feature on the Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) app to enhance the outdoor recreation planning experience for our community.

On Friday, April 3, Gov. Jared Polis announced the Colorado Mask Campaign encouraging Coloradans to wear non-medical cloth face coverings when leaving the home for essential business.

Chaffee County Public Health director and Incident Command for COVID-19 Andrea Carlstrom announced Friday the state and federal guidelines for COVID 19 precautions now include recommendations for the general public to wear a non-medical cloth face coverings when leaving the home for essentia…