Headlines April 30, 2020

Headlines April 30, 2020

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On Wednesday Governor Jared Polis expanded on what the new safer at home phase looks like for Colorado.

He said that we can expect to see a significant expansion in testing capacity for COVID 19. There should be 5000 tests a day happening in early May, increasing to 8,500 tests a day towards the end of May. That is up from the approximately 2000 tests per day that are currently happening in Colorado.

Governor Polis said the state will seek to partner with private entities in creating more testing opportunities. One such testing site, a partnership between the state health department and King Soopers, will be at CU Boulder on Thursday and Friday between 10am and 4pm.

Free drive-through COVID-19 will take place at the CU Boulder Space Sciences Building, 3665 Discovery Drive in Boulder. Registration for the service is required and is available by going to the website krogerhealth.com/covidtesting or by calling 1-888-852-2567.

Those interested will use a virtual screening tool based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to see if you are eligible. Registrants will receive an email confirmation with pre-appointment paperwork to complete. Upon arrival, drivers should have their photo ID ready and keep the window rolled up until a health care practitioner comes to the car to administer the test, which takes just a few minutes.

An estimated 250 vehicles a day are expected at the site.

The latest figures from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment show nearly 15 thousand positive cases of COVID-19 in Colorado with 766 deaths attributed to the virus.

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Figures released by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Wednesday show that the JBS meat packing plant in Greeley is one of Colorado’s largest confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks.

245 workers at the plant have tested positive for COVID-19 and 6 have died of the disease.

This week Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to keep meatpacking plants in the U.S. open during the coronavirus pandemic.

The plant in Greeley reopened last Friday after being closed for 9 days for cleaning and restructuring to allow for more distancing between workers.

Last week the union representing the workers received a cease and desist letter from JBS over their speaking out to the media about worker safety.
Dustin Hibbs, a worker at the plant, told KGNU  there are not enough measures in place to protect workers.

He says that when workers go in they are given a mask and hand sanitizer, however, on the meat processing floor, Hibbs says workers are in close proximity to each other.

“There’s maybe 10 or 12 stations side by side to each other, and we have to work in those stations as the meat goes by and we bump shoulders, we bump arms and there’s no social distance on the floor which is a concern.”

Frontier Airlines announced today that all passengers on its flights will be required to wear masks or other facial coverings starting May 8.

The Denver based airline released a statement saying that the rule will apply to passengers checking in at the airline’s ticket counters, waiting at gates and onboard all Frontier planes.

Earlier this week, Jet Blue announced that it would also mandate facial covering for passengers effective May 4.

Colorado Front Range parks and open space agencies are reporting damage to local trails as a result of increased visitation to public lands over the last month.

According to a joint statement released today by Boulder County Parks and Open Space, Boulder Parks, Denver Parks and Recreation, and Jefferson County Open Space, rangers and ecologists have seen trail widening and plant damage by visitors walking around muddy trail areas; disturbances to sensitive habitat areas from visitors illegally entering wildlife closures and other sensitive areas closed to the public; and visitors walking off designated trails.

Increased use of open space and trails along the Front Range has been of concern during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local agencies are asking people to find a different trail if parking lots are full or trails are crowded, and to visit open space areas in groups of four or fewer people.

People are also asked to wear a face covering AND maintain six feet of physical distance while on open space trails.

Last week Governor Jared Polis asked people to recreate within 10 miles of their homes.

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