Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

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May 08, 2020 | Local News

By Amber McIver-Traywick

The Surveyor

**** Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colorado has reached 17,364 with 86,976 having been tested. There have been 2,919 hospitalizations and 903 deaths attracted to the virus. In Larimer County there have been 430 positive cases resulting in 19 deaths. Berthoud has had 25 positive cases reported making up 6% of cases in Larimer County. (Information as of May 6, 2020)

****On May 4 Larimer County Public Health issued a public health order requiring face coverings for employees and customers to enter businesses in Larimer County. 

All employees who interact with the public or other employees are required to wear face coverings. All individuals entering or in line to enter businesses must cover their nose and mouth by wearing a mask or other form of facial covering. Businesses include but are not limited to schools, recreational facilities, retail businesses, manufacturing, places of worship and personal service establishments. 

The public health order requires face coverings for anyone over two years old. The department also said that anyone who has an underlying health condition is at higher risk for contracting COVID-19 and should remain at home during this safer at home phase. 

****Colorado Parks and Wildlife campgrounds will remain closed until further notice. Agency staff is working on a reopening plan, but ask visitors to State Parks to remain flexible in their travel plans as we navigate a very uncertain time. CPW is extending its closure of all campgrounds and camping facilities (including yurts and cabins) at Colorado’s state parks and state wildlife areas. Reservations through May 11 have been canceled for a full refund – no action is needed by these customers. See State Park Operations section below for additional details.

****The Colorado Unified Coordination Center received a second Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System that cleans and decontaminants used N95 respirators for reuse. The system will be installed in Montrose, Colorado at The Friendship Hall. The system will be returned to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) when no longer needed.

Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems (CCDS) are self-contained, mobile decontamination units that use vapor phase hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate N95 filtering facepiece respirators from biological contaminants, including SARS-CoV-2. The system can decontaminate up to 80,000 used N95 respirators per system per day, with a single respirator able to be reused up to 20 times without degradation.

All health care personnel are eligible for the free N95 decontamination. Additionally, nonmedical personnel participating in an emergency response due to COVID-19 also qualify as a health care professional under the Battelle Emergency Use Authorization. To get N95 respirators cleaned, health care providers must first fill out an enrollment form at battelle.org/decon.

*****The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week there are nine symptoms for people to be aware of associated with COVID-19 those include: cough, fever, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a new loss of taste of smell.

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