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County will only test symptomatic individuals for COVID-19

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The Routt County Department of Public Health will now only test symptomatic individuals for COVID-19. The decision, announced Thursday, is based on guidance the county received from the state about Curative tests.

“Routt County Public Health just received guidance from the state of Colorado that the Curative tests we have been using in our community testing can only be used for individuals with symptoms and cannot be used in congregate care facilities,” said Routt County Public Health Director Roberta Smith in a news release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued a warning that there is a risk of false negative results with the Curative SARS-Cov-2 test, which increases the risk of spreading the virus.



Asymptomatic individuals can still get tested at other locations like UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center and Northwest Colorado Health.

“We are working with the state to procure another testing product we can use for asymptomatic testing,” Smith said. “We thank you for your patience as we adjust our procedures.”



The change in testing comes as the county is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.

On Thursday, the county reported a decrease in two-rate case counts but an increase in the local positivity rate to 8.63%.

Routt County’s most recent case count is 244 COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks and 103 cases in the last week.


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