SAN LUIS VALLEY - The San Luis Valley is in the process of adopting a region-wide approach to assessing and monitoring COVID-19 risk and capacity to handle a potential increase in illness. It is coordinated with State measurements which indicate how to move between phases, whether moving forward with loosening restrictions or taking a step back if needed.

One of the measurements being used is the positivity rate. This shows if the region is doing enough testing to properly track the pandemic. Currently, the positivity rate is 6.1%. Ideally, it should be under 5%. This means there are individuals in the community who are symptomatic, but not getting tested. The best way to improve this is if more people who have symptoms pursue getting a COVID-19 test.

Getting tested if you’re sick is a great way to help our community understand more about the pandemic and make better informed decisions. To get tested, call: Rio Grande Hospital 719-657-4990 SLVHealth Respiratory Clinic 719-589- 2511 ext. 9 Valley-Wide Health Systems 719-589-3658 ext. 9 (M-F), 719-589- 2562 (Sa/Su) Thursday, Alamosa County Public Health Department received notification of an additional COVID-19 related fatality, a resident of the County who passed away in the hospital.

This brings the total number of fatalities for Alamosa County to 9; Thirteen for the Region. The SLV currently has 15 known active cases. Alamosa: 8 Conejos: 0 Costilla: 1 Mineral: 1 Rio Grande: 5 Saguache: 0 Our SLVEmergency COVID-19 page, slvemergency.org/slv-covid-19, will now feature a summary of numbers for the SLV Region, as well as a count of the active cases per county, updated weekdays.

It is currently under construction as we make this change. Thank you for your patience. For general (nonmedical) SLV COVID-19 related questions: [email protected], 719-480- 8719