Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center began COVID-19 vaccinations for frontline and health care workers Thursday afternoon following receipt of the 345 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Chaffee County Public Health along with several community stakeholders and subject matter experts are hosting a virtual town hall to provide updates and address concerns about current trends of COVID-19 at noon Friday, Dec. 18, on Facebook Live and Zoom. 

As of Dec. 15

As Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center and Chaffee County Public Health prepare to receive the first batches of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the case count in Chaffee County shows no sign of slowing with 27 cases reported from Saturday through Monday and 72 in the last week.

Two new cases were reported at Chaffee County High School, district superintendent Lisa Yates said Monday morning.

Chaffee County Public Health will receive 100 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as early as mid-December, a press release stated.

The federal government determined the vaccine allocation amount by the size of every state’s total population and the quantity of ready-to-ship doses from the manufacturers.

Chaffee County Public Health is receiving 100 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as early as mid-December.

All COVID-19 vaccines are required to go through a rigorous scientific evaluation before the manufacturer applies to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization.

The state of Colorado surpassed 3,000 deaths, since data collection began in March, directly attributable to COVID-19 with a total of 3,005 as of Thursday.

The state reported a pandemic total of 276,995 cases as of Thursday with a seven-day moving average of 4,019 cases daily and a seven-day positivity rate of 11.23 percent.

In Chaffee County the pandemic total of positive cases rose to 750 Thursday with the addition of six cases on Thursday and seven cases from previous days.

In response to the current numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state, Gov. Jared Polis extended Colorado’s mask mandate for another 30 days Wednesday as a strategy to help quell the spread of the virus.

The town of Buena Vista Parks and Recreation Department released new guidelines Thursday, canceling all ongoing indoor sports programming scheduled through December, following Colorado Public Health’s decision to move the county to orange on the COVID-19 severity dial.

As of Dec. 7

Chaffee County’s two-week positivity rate rose to 5.26 percent Monday with the addition of 22 newly identified cases of COVID-19 reported from Saturday to Monday.

The Buena Vista school district reported 8 new cases of COVID-19 within the district Monday, however, none of these cases resulted in school-related close contacts, superintendent Lisa Yates said.

PLEASE NOTE: CDPHE decided that Chaffee County will be moving from the Yellow Level to the more restrictive level of orange this Friday, Dec. 4, at 5 p.m.

Due to the continued rising incidence of COVID-19 cases in Chaffee County, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced in a press release it is requiring that Chaffee County move into the orange level, the next restrictive level, at 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 4.

The Colorado Department of Corrections released an update Tuesday afternoon regarding the Department’s COVID-19 response.

Chaffee County is poised to move to a higher level of COVID-19 restrictions.

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Monday Chaffee County will be moving from level yellow – concern to level orange – high risk, starting at 5 p.m., Friday.

The entire student body at Buena Vista High School will shift to remote learning through Friday, Dec. 4 following a report  over the weekend of a household with confirmed positive cases of COVID-19.

By Max R. Smith, Times reporter

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis has issued an executive order that will allow Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to “order hospitals and freestanding emergency departments to transfer or cease the admission of patients to respond to the current COVID-19 disaster emergency in Colorado.”

Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center received a $450,000 COVID-19 Relief grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. 

Chaffee County Public Health reported seven new cases of COVID-19 Thursday in Chaffee County.

Added to previously reported cases that makes 45 cases reported in the last seven days and 79 reported in the past 14 days.

Chaffee county’s total case count for the pandemic is now 540.

The COVID-19 team at Chaffee County Public Health recently changed its process of exposure notification for COVID-19 test results.

The change is due to the increase in demand for services related to COVID-19 and the realization that there is currently not enough capacity to address the increased need.

As of Nov. 16

Chaffee County Public Health reported Friday a 51-year-old man succumbed to COVID-19, to which he was probably exposed during out-of-town activities. He is the 15th victim to die in Chaffee County.

"Please wear a mask (even if you have been skeptical in the past), distance yourselves from others beyond household members, avoid in-person gatherings whenever possible, rethink travel plans, and take care of one another."

A classroom at Avery-Parsons Elementary School, as well as a "targeted group of about 20 students" at Buena Vista Middle School were moved into quarantine Friday, according to a text alert to Buena Vista School District families Friday afternoon.

Starting today, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center will implement several changes to the type of COVID-19 tests offered at its facilities.

All routine outpatient COVID-19 tests will be sent to Mayo Clinic for results.

COVID-19 cases in Chaffee County since the beginning of the pandemic has passed the 500 mark. Thursday’s 8 reported cases put the county’s total count at 502. In the last seven days 41 cases were reported by Chaffee County Public Health.

As of Nov. 9­

Chaffee County Public Health reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday and 34 cases reported in the last seven days.

Monday 3,301 new cases were reported statewide, bringing Colorado’s pandemic total to 135,537.

Gov. Jared Polis provided an update on the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic today.

Chaffee County Public Health is working with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to update the county mitigation plan in light of an increased case count in the county.

Six new cases of COVID-19 were reported by Chaffee County Public Health from Saturday to Monday, bringing the pandemic total to 449 cases for the county.

As of Nov. 2

Buena Vista High School Principal Jon Ail announced Thursday morning that Homecoming events scheduled to take place this weekend would be rescheduled to mid-November in light of a number of students being quarantined due to potential contact with a presumed positive COVID-19 case.

Two main takeaways from the COVID-19 town hall hosted by Chaffee County Public Health Friday were the current trend of a rising number of cases across the state and recently in Chaffee County and the “pandemic fatigue” being felt by many as the state moves into the eighth month of COVID-19 precautions.

As of Oct. 26

Buena Vista schools will be closed Monday, according to messaging sent out by the district late Sunday afternoon.

Chaffee County Public Health recorded 18 positive diagnoses of COVID-19 since last Wednesday.

Andrea Carlstrom, public health director said Monday, “The numbers are certainly concerning.”

Two new cases of COVID-19 were reported Friday, one in the general community and the other a staff member at Buena Vista Correctional Complex.

Chaffee County Public Heath reported an additional seven cases of COVID-19 above the two initially reported Tuesday, bringing the total to nine cases reported this week.

Tuesday’s total was six cases, Wednesday had three cases reported and as of 4 p.m. Thursday one more case had been added to the total.

Per the guidance of Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chaffee County Public Health asks residents to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 while celebrating Halloween.

At nearly double the 1.34 percent positivity rate at the begining of September, Chaffee County Public Health said it is concerned.

The Chaffee County Community Foundation, together with the city of Salida, Board of Chaffee County commissioners and the town of Buena Vista, is announcing a new funding program for Chaffee nonprofits and community designed to provide financial relief to organizations and address youth progr…

Chaffee County Public Health reported 10 positive cases of COVID-19 in the last week, with 8 of those cases being reported since Sunday.

That includes the elementary school-age case at Avery Parsons Elementary School in Buena Vista, reported Monday.

All of the other reported cases were in the north end of the county and all cases were resting at home.

Chaffee County Public Health is calling for support for isolation and quarantine for those who are ill.

CCPH said in a press release they are two of the basic tenets of controlling disease transmission.

Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.

Quarantine separates and restricts the movements of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.

In an effort to reinforce the requirement that local businesses adhere to the statewide mask mandate and public health orders, Chaffee County Public Health has established a clear protocol to establish expectations when the mandate is not followed.

Three weeks into the fall semester at the Buena Vista school district, Avery-Parsons Elementary School put the district’s COVID-19 protocols into action following the confirmation of a positive case of the illness at the elementary school Monday.

Chaffee County report

Chaffee County report

Chaffee County Public Health reported four newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday on the county’s new data dashboard.

Three of the cases were listed among inmates at Buena Vista Correctional Complex and one was in the general community.

As of Aug. 3. Numbers reflect data that is made known to CCPH.

New cases past 7 days 4

Postive cases in Chaffee County 288

As of July 27. Numbers reflect data that is made known to CCPH.

Chaffee County Public Health reported one new case of COVID-19 in the county community Thursday, bringing the total number of community cases to 33.

Buena Vista Correctional Facility has 131 reported positive cases of COVID-19, including 128 inmates and 3 staff members thus far in their recent outbreak of the virus.

That increase drove Chaffee County’s total number of positive cases up to 219 as of Monday.

Chaffee County Public helath reported two new cases of COVID-19 Thursday bringing the county total to 126.

Coloradans older than 10 years old must wear a face covering over their nose and mouth when entering or moving within any public indoor space. A public indoor space is defined as any enclosed indoor area that is publicly or privately owned, managed or operated to which individuals have access by right or by invitation, expressed or implied, and that is accessible to the public, serves as a place of employment, or is an entity providing services. Public Indoor Space does not mean a person’s residence, including a room in a motel or hotel or a residential room for students at an educational facility.

Gov. Jared Polis provided an update Tuesday to Coloradans on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Jared Polis extended the Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors Executive Order Tuesday and provided an update on Colorado’s next steps during the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing more details on the Protect Our Neighbors framework.

Gov. Jared Polis today announced Protect Our Neighbors, a framework that will empower local governments that can demonstrate strong public health and health care systems, paired with low virus levels, to make decisions about how they should reopen.

Chaffee County Public Health and Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center will host a free COVID-19 testing clinic every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon, by appointment only.

In the last week, daily death rates in Colorado among those diagnosed with COVID-19 have lowered to between one and five deaths per day.

The Buena Vista Chamber of Commerce will not hold Gold Rush Days this August, postponing the event until 2021 due to COVID-19.

Chaffee County Public Health and Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center reported an additional case of COVID-19 was discovered following Tuesday’s free community testing.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has adopted the Fifth Amended Public Health Order Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors, which lasts through June 30.

The Mountain Mania Car Show will not be held this Fourth of July weekend, Buena Vista Optimist Club event director Gary Roberts said Monday.

"The Buena Vista Optimist Club board of directors met yesterday and looked at the car show from every aspect. We weighed the pros and cons of holding the car show this year, but our first concern has to be for the health and wellbeing of our town and surrounding community," Roberts wrote in an email to other Optimists. "While we felt confident we had a plan to put more distance between each car in the show and requiring all participants and attendees to wear a mask, we realized there are always those folks that would not comply."

Chaffee County Public Health reported no new COVID-19 cases Wednesday beyond the 70 already reported as positive or probable cases.

Buena Vista's Fourth of July parade will not take place this year as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, the BV Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday morning.

Art in the Park, the arts and crafts show in McPhelemy Park on the same weekend, has also been canceled for 2020, a news release from the chamber said.

Gov. Polis today discussed the new state guidelines around in-person dining at restaurants, day camps and private campgrounds, as well as the decision-making process around implementing or loosening restrictions.

Beginning May 27, 2020, restaurants are allowed to re-open for in-person dining at 50% capacity. The restaurant industry has a significant impact on Colorado’s economy, employing almost 300,000 Coloradans, or 10% of the state workforce.

Chaffee County Public Health announced Tuesday two positive cases of COVID-19 were discovered during the weekend, bringing the total number of cases in Chaffee County to 70.

Chaffee County Public Health reported a new positive case of COVID-19 in the county Saturday, bringing the county’s total cases to 69.

The Buena Vista Recreation Department is opening back up, although its programming, rentals and events are postponed until “at least June 1.”

The Seven Peaks Festival will not be returning to the Meadows this Labor Day Weekend.

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.