Summit County’s COVID-19 positivity rate declines as testing efforts increase across county

KEYSTONE – Anyone in Summit County can now be tested for the novel coronavirus, regardless of their circumstances.

Currently, Summit County has the capacity to administer approximately 1,000 tests per day through its three testing sites, Amy Wineland, director of public health, said at a public event on Nov. 18. With this capability, testing is now available to the entire community, whether insured or symptomatic.

The dramatic increase in testing capacity is the result of an increase in the test positivity rate – the percentage of positive tests on all tests – in Summit County. On November 13, the county reported a positivity rate of 16.3%. Since then, the rate has fallen to 7.8% on Saturday, November 28, according to the state’s COVID-19 dial dashboard.

“We are doing a better job of capturing those who have the virus because of the increased testing we are doing in the community,” Wineland said at a Board of Health meeting on Tuesday, November 24.

Although the detection rate has fallen, the county’s two-week incidence rate remains high. On Saturday, the state was reporting 1,197 new cases per 100,000 people in Summit County, which is well below the red threshold.

When cases began to increase in mid-September, the county was only able to test about 100 people per day through its Centura Health site. At that time, public health officials were only urging people who were symptomatic or exposed to the virus to get tested.

Since then, the county has partnered with Vail Health and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to open two more testing clinics in Frisco and Silverthorne. He also worked with Centura Health to expand testing in its daily screening clinic. In all, there are three COVID-19 testing clinics open to the community.

In Frisco, Centura Health operates a daily clinic in the Vista professional building. The clinic has increased its testing capacity and is now testing up to 200 people per day, said St. Anthony Summit Medical Center spokesperson Brent Boyer.

In all of its clinics, Centura has expanded its testing criteria, said Dr. Stephen Cobb, chief medical officer of Centura in Denver.

“In the beginning, we were only testing patients who met the criteria for hospitalization and very few other populations,” he said. “Now we’re testing pretty generously, from people wishing to travel on Thanksgiving to people admitted to the ICU and everything in between.”

The county has also partnered with Vail Health, Breckenridge Grand Vacations and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area to open a new trial site at the Old Community Center, located at 110 Third Ave. in Frisco. This is the second time the county has called on Vail Health to help provide testing in the community.

In April, Vail Health began providing testing at its Howard Head sports medicine clinic. The clinic closed in May when demand for testing fell.

Shaneis Kehoe, who oversees testing at the Vail Health Clinic, said Summit County officials have approached the health system to improve screening capacity in the county.

“(The residents of Summit County are) our neighbors, we all have the same priorities: staying healthy, being outdoors, keeping our ski season afloat,” Kehoe said. “It was pretty easy to jump in and help them again.”

Kehoe said the clinic has the capacity to test 200 patients per day. On average, the clinic currently receives 30 to 60 patients.

Kehoe and Cobb said the two test sites were unaware of the limits they saw at the start of the pandemic. Kehoe said patients at the Vail Health site can expect a result within 48 hours.

“We have the ability to test anyone, whether asymptomatic or symptomatic, we will test whoever asks for one, they don’t need a doctor’s prescription,” Kehoe said.

In addition to increased capacity at the Centura site and a new Vail Health site, the county has partnered with the state health department to open a drive-thru test site in the parking lot at overflow next to the Silverthorne Recreation Center.

The state site, which is operated by MAKO Medical, is able to administer around 600 tests per day, Wineland said at a community town hall on Nov.6. The site currently averages about 200 to 300 tests per day. Although it was originally only to be open for two weeks, the site is now expected to be in Silverthorne until December 30.

Unlike the Centura and Vail Health sites, the Silverthorne test site does not require an appointment. However, people can ensure a faster experience by filling out a registration form in advance.

While testing is widely available in Summit County, that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t follow COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions, Cobb said.

“We need people to make the right choices this holiday season, not to gather outside our homes and to do the things we know that will stop the spread of the virus,” he said.