Governor Polis today reiterated the Four Pillars for Success that need to be accomplished in order to contain the virus and revitalize our economy:
- Every Coloradan stays safer at home whenever possible.
- Older Coloradans and those at higher risk of suffering from complications of COVID-19 are staying at home.
- Coloradans must wear a mask: This is required now statewide in all public spaces, and everyone should do their best to wear masks outdoors to minimize their risk and protect others.
- And as a state, we are continuing to scale up our testing and tracing: this is a pillar determinant of our response in tracking positivity rates and assessing our capability to treat those who have tested positive (currently just over 4% of people who get a test).
These pillars require Coloradans across the state to exercise individual responsibility while the government works to improve our overall ability to contain the virus. Only together, can we be prepared to face the challenges that lay ahead.
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As a direct result of state lab expansion and partnerships with the private sector, Colorado has made the quantum leap from testing 160 Coloradans per day back in March to administering on average over 10,000 tests per day.
And the state’s test processing capabilities have been strengthened as well. The state lab has added a third, overnight shift to process more tests and keep turn-around-time low. These extra hours working to serve our communities are not easy on our state healthcare workers. The state and Governor Polis are immensely grateful for their courageous work.
Our state lab team represents true excellence in public service.
It’s because of their work that state labs processed an all time high of 3,803 tests on July 19th. That day, Colorado also hit our overall combined high between the state lab and private labs with 12,413 tests processed. Between state and private labs, we also achieved a 7-day average this past week of 10,317 tests per day and a 3,000 7-day average for state labs alone.
Furthermore, to cover all our bases, the state is also working to diversify our testing capacity. The state lab has invoked authority from the FDA to approve novel tests for use in Colorado. Over the next few weeks, the state will be evaluating an innovative saliva test developed at University of Colorado that has the potential to significantly expand our surveillance testing capabilities.
And over time, academic and private lab partners will be expanding the types of samples that we can collect for testing, including working with Curative Inc. to introduce a cheek swab test in Colorado, in settings where repeated testing is appropriate.
The state is excited to be able to introduce new, more efficient testing methods. When we detect the virus early in individuals, those individuals can undergo treatment sooner, and we achieve our foremost goal: saving lives.
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Colorado’s testing capacity expansion is also due in part to an aggressive strategy of partnering with private supply channels and continuing to work with federal resources.
Through this method, Colorado has been able to increase our testing capacity to meet the demand:
- The state partnered with local public health and healthcare providers including hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and others to support over 50 local community-based testing sites.
- The state is working with Children’s Hospital and National Jewish to run 800 tests per day.
- Local private labs Biodesix and Unipath are adding capacity for another 1200 tests/day.
- The state also has agreements in place with additional private labs like Mako Labs (2,000/day), Curative (3,000/day) and ATCG (1,200/day) to help us process thousands more tests each day and better meet increased need, test at residential facilities across the state and increase community based testing.
- And the state teamed up with Korean manufacturers to secure critical testing supplies to Colorado.
A supply chain interruption could sink our best efforts, so the state is dedicated to continuing to forge these partnerships with international and domestic suppliers on our own terms.
In that vein, the state has purchased 300,000 tests and 450,000 swab kits through international suppliers, and is expecting 300,000 more tests plus 800,000 swab kits over the next 8 weeks by September 30th -- or 100,000 swab kits per week. Another 300,000 swabs have been purchased and delivered from within U.S. borders, and 500,000 kits are expected by the end of September.
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RESIDENTIAL CARE STRIKE FORCE |
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In Colorado, more than half of the COVID-19 related deaths have been among older adults and people with disabilities who resided in high-density, group-living settings, like nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and group homes. In order to reduce the spread of illness and number of deaths in these settings, the state launched a Residential Care Strike Force in late April.
The Strike Force Team set a goal to conduct proactive widespread asymptomatic testing for both residents and staff. This proactive testing aims to identify asymptomatic cases early to minimize the potential for an outbreak.
The team has prioritized facilities serving the most residents, as they are at the highest risk for an outbreak. To date, 110,690 testing kits have been distributed to 176 facilities who have indicated they just need support with supplies.
Furthermore, the National Guard has been key to our capacity for testing the most vulnerable whether that is at senior facilities or rapid deployment to outbreaks when they happen. They’ve already completed 11,384 tests in 75 facilities. That’s why Governor Polis has asked the federal government to extend the National Guard deployment past the current authorization in August.
Additionally, the state has contracted with Colorado State University to provide support with testing for facilities that are able to complete their own testing with additional technical assistance. CSU has completed 12,246 tests in 31 facilities.
All of their efforts have culminated to 134,320 tests completed or delivered to long term care facilities, and the state is grateful for The Strike Force’s hard work in caring for our most vulnerable.
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As the state works to contain the spread of the virus, contact tracing has become even more important. Only by knowing who has recently been in close contact with a person infected with coronavirus can we take swift action to notify others that they may have been exposed and guide them to self-isolate or take other measures to prevent a full blown outbreak.
That’s why the government is working to make over $75 million available to local public health agencies to expand our contact tracing capacity. And thanks to 115 full-time COVID-19 investigators and contact tracers, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been able to reach out to 96% of positive cases within 48 hours; the vast majority -- 72% -- have responded.
But these are only the first steps. In June, the Governor announced that the Corporation for National and Community Service would be mobilizing more than 800 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members to support the state’s COVID-19 response through contact tracing and other associated work.
To date, 423 contact tracers have started working, and an additional 300 AmeriCorps NCCC members, 350 VISTA Summer Associates, and 100-200 Senior Corps volunteers will be joining them over the course of the next year.
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In addition to robust testing and contact tracing, having adequate protective equipment is key to helping keep our communities safe. Today, Governor Polis highlighted the work of several teams and organizations that have helped make Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) more accessible:
The nonprofit Energize Colorado is connecting Colorado businesses with PPE through their PPE Marketplace, helping to provide supplies like:
- KN-95 respirator masks
- Surgical masks
- Face Shields
- Hand Sanitizer
- Surgical and general purpose gloves
- Face Coverings
- Disinfectant
- Thermometers
- Surgical Gowns
- Face masks
Noel Ginsburg, the Founder and Chairman of Intertech Plastics and Founder and CEO of CareerWise Colorado established a team dedicated to ensuring Coloradans have better access to PPE.
The state and Governor Polis are immensely grateful for the work that these teams and many others have done. Making PPE more accessible will help make our economy more resilient and support our businesses as they bounce back. PPE is crucial to finding a way to send our kids back to school safely and continuing to protect our most vulnerable populations.
And because of Colorado’s success in acquiring PPE, the Governor announced today that all K-12 schools will receive one mask per week per teacher for the next ten weeks. This includes all district public schools, private schools, charter schools, and boarding schools. Exact details and logistics will be announced at a later date.
Please visit energizecolorado.com to learn more about the PPE Marketplace and a whole host of other services and supports to help get Colorado back up and running again.
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