We’ve been hit by a triple whammy here in Archuleta County, at least for the time being. Out tourism industry is temporarily shut down. The states that send us a large portion of our annual tourists and second-home dwellers — Texas and Oklahoma — have been hit by an oil-price-war. And our gray-haired population could be especially susceptible to the threat of COVID-19.
But there’s a silver lining to living in a retirement community like Pagosa Springs.
Yesterday, San Juan Basin Public Health received confirmation of the first positive case of COVID-19 in Archuleta County. “No further details about this case will be shared to protect the privacy of this individual.” If you have had contact with this unidentified individual in recent days, hopefully someone will slip you a warning to allow you to self-quarantine.
SJBPH is already performing public health best practice steps for disease investigation, including contact tracing. Once someone is confirmed as infected with a virus, contacts are identified by asking about the person’s activities and the activities of the people around them since the onset of the infectious period. All known contacts are identified and informed of their contact status, and the importance of receiving early care if they develop symptoms. Contacts will also be provided with information about prevention of the disease. In some cases, quarantine or isolation is required for high risk contacts, either at home or in hospital.
Contact tracing by this method protects the privacy rights of patients in accordance with federal law, and details of the individuals’ whereabouts or contacts during the presumed infectious period will not be publicly shared by SJBPH. Individuals who are believed to have had contact with an infected person will be directly contacted by SJBPH staff.
“San Juan Basin Public Health expected that Archuleta County would see positive cases, and we imagine we will see more cases in the days to come,” said SJBPH Executive Director Liane Jollon. “All residents of Archuleta County are urged to make responsible choices to protect our community and stay at home, according the governor’s recent orders,” she said.
As far as I can tell, the people of Archuleta County have been doing a decent job of staying at home, even before the Polis administration handed down its latest order. In fact, I would venture to say, Archuleta County had been doing a decent job of staying at home, even before we ever heard of the novel coronavirus.
For a couple of years, I played in a three-person rock band called ‘The Retro Cats’, with my friends Greg Milioto and Bruce Wayne. (Greg and Bruce were a duo before I joined the band, and have continued to perform as a duo after I left.) We performed at a number of local venues — mostly bars, but also in Town Park, at the annual Pagosa Car Show, at the golf course, at private parties. Greg and Bruce are two of the finest rock musicians I’ve had the pleasure to perform with, and like so many small-town bands, we played a selection of popular covers ranging from country to blues to heavy rock to soft rock. The band played decent, dance-able music — aimed at an older demographic, you might say. Our own demographic. Over 60.
When performing in a bar, we would typically start playing at 7pm and play until 10pm. Typically, the bar was mostly empty when we started playing. Between 8-9pm, there might be a dozen people on the dance floor. By the time we played our final tune at 10pm, the bar would often be devoid of customers. Our older fans needed to get home, before it got too late.
I realize this was not the situation for every performing group in Pagosa. A few bands were consistently able to draw larger, more loyal crowds than were The Retro Cats. The Tim Sullivan Band regularly packed them in. The band called Ragwater had a devoted following. But my point here is that, over the many years, Pagosa Springs has not shown overwhelming enthusiasm for live music. Or for live theater. Or for the movies shown at our local Liberty Theater.
This is not a criticism. People are often attracted to this little mountain community because they value solitude, and that’s one thing Pagosa has been happy to offer, in abundance. Many folks would much rather watch deer grazing on their lawn, or birds flitting around the bird feeder, than spend time in a bar or theater or other venue.
This is the flip side of the third aspect of the ‘triple whammy’ I discussed in yesterday’s editorial installment. We have a lot of older folks in our community, who may have led exciting, active lives when they were younger, but who moved to Pagosa for some peace and quiet. No doubt these folks will weather, gracefully, Governor Polis’ new “Stay At Home” order. While COVID-19 is especially hard on older victims, our older residents already have a marked tendency to stay home.
And another thing. Our older residents are most often retirees. They don’t need to pack their lunch and go to work each day. Based on the Census estimates I’ve seen, it looks like at least 25 percent of Archuleta County’s full-time population is over 65, and most of those folks may not have a compelling reason to leave their homes, except to buy groceries and necessities.
One question that may get answered this weekend, now that the “Stay At Home” order is officially in place:
Will people gather in large groups for Sunday worship? Apparently, not.
Some examples.
Centerpoint Church (Baptist) is holding online services this Sunday.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pueblo, to which our two Catholic churches belong, ceased offering public masses as of March 13. “In a time like this when Mass is unavailable, the Catholic faithful are dispensed from their Sunday Mass obligation.”
Grace Church is offering “Sunday Services, Sermons, Worship, Devotionals, and more!” on their website.
Restoration Fellowship is ‘livestreaming’ its Sunday Services.
Pagosa Bible Church has announced “lovely worship services live online at 9 am Sundays and recorded.”
Stay at home, Pagosa Springs, for a few weeks. Hopefully the worst you will catch is cabin fever.