Recent COVID-19 surveillance testing for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe found eight positive cases among the 1,250 who were tested, Chairman Manuel Heart announced in an address Tuesday.
Of the eight cases, three were members and five were tribal employees from outside of the community.
“This is a great accomplishment for our tribe,” Heart said, attributing the low numbers to members complying with health guidelines.
Testing was conducted on May 19 and 20 in Towaoc and was free to all tribal members and employees. Heart has previously said the state of Colorado provided 2,000 test kits.
The tribe waited several days for the first batch of results to be returned, which were mailed out, initially reporting only 750 had been returned on Friday. Results are already included with the rest of Montezuma County’s case numbers.
Though the tribal government is celebrating the news, Heart continues to urge members to take the coronavirus seriously by following health guidelines like wearing masks when in public. The chairman also said to continue ordering takeout even as some restaurants in the county begin to open dining rooms under the state’s safer-at-home order.
COVID-19 testing is still available at the Towaoc Recreation Center on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-11 a.m each day.
The announcement of the results comes a day before free testing will be offered at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.