Last week s Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment update on outbreaks of COVID-19 showed a significant drop in newly identified sites, suggesting that the worst might finally be over for retail establishments, health-care centers and other facilities. But no: The latest weekly CDPHE outbreak number is almost double that from just seven days earlier. Moreover, one of the new entries, the Apple Store at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, demonstrates how difficult it is for even the most diligent operations to keep the novel coronavirus at bay indefinitely.
In a November post about COVID-19 safety at malls in Level Red zones, we singled out the Cherry Creek Apple Store as the gold standard for pandemic-era safety: masked staff, monitored access complete with temperatures taken at the door, appointment scheduling, extremely limited capacity and more. If an outlet that s instituted such procedures isn t immune from viral spread, then nowhere is entirely safe and right no
Coloradans love their big-box stores, but since the rise of COVID-19, those stores have sometimes stocked more than bargains. Many major retailers and grocers have already experienced novel coronavirus outbreaks, and more of them appear on the latest weekly update from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment which again includes over 200 fresh entries.
Walmart reports four new outbreaks across the state, while Home Depot has three in a single metro county.
The CDPHE considers an entity an outbreak after two or more COVID-19 cases among residents, staffers or other people connected to a specific location are confirmed within a fourteen-day period, or two or more cases of respiratory illness with an onset of symptoms within a fourteen-day period are paired with at least one additional COVID-19 diagnosis. The vast majority of businesses and facilities identified as outbreaks remain open, while working with the department to monitor symptoms and prevent future infect