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Health & Prevention Report: SHS will end drive-thru testing as COVID hospitalizations decline and vaccination rates rise

By Lucas Brady Woods

Published February 17, 2022 at 11:15 AM MST

The entrance to the drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at Southwest Health System in Cortez on February 17.

Some communities are rolling back pandemic safety measures like mask mandates. This week, Boulder County on the Front Range ended it's mask mandate for schools and public indoor spaces.

Here in Cortez, Southwest Health System is discontinuing drive-thru COVID-19 testing next week. In this interview, Marc Meyer, the hospital's director of infection control, says COVID hospitalizations are down and vaccination rates are up in Montezuma County. But he also says the pandemic isn't over, and warns against rolling back precautions too soon.

Colorado COVID-19 Data

Statewide COVID-19 data is available to the public through two online data dashboards.

The COVID-19 Data Dashboard covers case counts, hospitalizations and deaths.
The Vaccine Data Dashboard covers vaccine rates.

For some of the more specific data that Meyer talks about in this interview can be found by browsing the Department of Public Health and Environment's open data portal. That data includes one and two-week positivity rates on the county level.

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KSJD Local News KSJD Health and Prevention Report COVID-19 Southwest Health System

Lucas Brady Woods

Lucas is the News Director for KSJD Community Radio. His work focuses on serving the public of the Four Corners with responsible, factual reporting.

See stories by Lucas Brady Woods

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