Current CDC Covid-19 Community Level
| Low | Medium | High |
Pitkin County is at a MEDIUM level. (Reflects Jan 3rd level) Learn more.
Hospital Status
- Aspen Valley Hospital Capacity: COMFORTABLE*
(Based on an evaluation of inpatient hospitalizations, transfer capacity, healthcare workers out and average daily visits in ER, respiratory evaluation, and COVID-19 testing)- Aspen Valley Hospital Capacity Metric Levels:
- Essential Healthcare Workers (EHCW) Out: CAUTIOUS
- Average Daily Visits: COMFORTABLE
- Inpatient Hospitalization and Transfer Capacity: COMFORTABLE
- Aspen Valley Hospital Capacity Metric Levels:
- Pitkin County Resident Hospital Admissions: 5 (in past 28 days)
- All Colorado Hospitalizations:
- 90% of Acute Care Beds in Use
- 90% of ICU Beds in Use
- 56% of Those Hospitalized are Unvaccinated
7-Day COVID-19 Case Summary
- New Pitkin County cases in the previous 7 days: 13
- Resident Incidence Rate: 75/100,000
(The cumulative incidence rate is calculated by dividing the total number of cases over the census population, then multiplying by 100,000)
7-Day Testing Summary
- Positivity Rate: 35%
Updates
Covid-19 Dashboard Update
On January 4th the Pitkin County Covid-19 Dashboard is changing to reflect the most current Covid-19 information and metrics. As the pandemic has moved towards endemic, the data that Pitkin County Public Health is using to track Covid-19 in the community has changed.
As testing numbers have decreased, and guidance on testing has changed to focus on higher risk individuals who are seeking treatment, incidence rate and case count are no longer the core metrics that will be utilized to determine recommendation and guidelines. Going forward the dashboard will report on trends in Incidence Rates, Percent Positivity, and Wastewater. Trends will be reported as Increasing, Decreasing, Low Plateau and High Plateau. CDC Community Levels will continue to be displayed and the Aspen Valley Hospital dashboard will remain.
The final change that will take place is that Instead of reporting specific metrics each day, Pitkin County Public Health will align the frequency of updates with CDC and CDPHE by updating the new dashboard once a week on Monday’s by 12pm MST.
Again these changes are in order to better communicate with the public about the ever changing Covid-19 landscape and better represent Covid-19 information within Pitkin County.
Antigen Test Update
First a quick reminder, How Do Antigen Tests Work: These tests detect viral proteins, not RNA, from sample site (typically the nose) and will only indicate positives if enough viral protein is present.
Are the Tests still working? Yes but…
There have been recent studies done comparing the effectiveness of antigen tests with Omicron infection compared to previous variants. One study showed that the tests required 10-100x the amount of viral protein to trigger a positive for Omicron infections when compared to Delta infections. Another study found that during the Omicron wave (January – March 2022) individuals who were tested with a PCR NAAT test and who were positive for Omicron had a lower viral load compared to prior variants.
So whole antigen tests are still effective at detecting Covid-19 infections, meaning a positive antigen test is a true positive, individuals who are symptomatic but testing negative with an antigen test may still be infected with Covid-19 but don’t have a high enough viral load to trigger an antigen positive.
NAAT PCR tests are still the gold standard and the best diagnostic tool at our disposal.
Individuals seeking a diagnosis should not rely on antigen tests to determine infection status even though a positive result is still a true positive. Any one who is symptomatic should remain home, take care of themselve, mask in public, and only return to work/school only after symptoms, including fever, have resolved without medication for 24 hrs,
Individuals who require a positive test result to access treatment should speak to their primary care physician and seek out a PCR test for definitive diagnosis. All symptomatic individuals, regardless of test results, should stay home and wear a mask until 24 hrs after symptoms resolve including fever
