Winter Park, CO declared a COVID-19 outbreak as 109 staff test positive.
Winter Park, CO town square - pic credit Winter Park Resort
Covid-19 and the ski industry continue to interact and we are now seeing a number of outbreaks at ski resorts. Majority of the outbreaks are coming from the housing environments where a large number of staff are residing in communal housing.
Outbreaks continue to grow concern at Colorado’s ski resorts. This week’s outbreak list from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has detailed 109 positive cases at Winter Park Resort in Grand County. The outbreak, which was first declared on Jan. 23, accounts for 6.4% of the 1,700 employees at the ski area. Whilst mask are mandatory at the ski resort it really is a trust system as there are not enough staff or security to enforce the large number of customers who arrive at the resort each day.
Grand County Health did not report the outbreak to the state until this week. In a joint statement between Grand County Health and Winter Park Resort earlier this week, they said the cases have not been traced to interaction with visitors but were connected to “social gatherings outside of the workplace and congregate housing.”
In the latest report, there were also outbreaks declared at Breckenridge and Keystone. The former has 12 active outbreaks totaling 26 cases, and Keystone has four with 10 positive cases.
These outbreaks are among 895 listed as active in Colorado. Another 2,806 are listed as resolved.
CDPHE considers an active COVID-19 outbreak two or more cases from the same site. For an outbreak to be resolved, 28 days must pass with no new illnesses connected to the location.
Winter Park Resort is located in the Colorado rocky mountains about 1.5 hours drive from downtown Denver, CO. Winter Park is also one of the only ski resorts in the USA with a train that runs directly from a major city to the village of the resort.
Winter Park, CO Trail Map - pic credit Winter Park Resort
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