{"id":51336,"date":"2020-09-26T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/then-and-now-6-months-after-colorado-issued-stay-at-home-order\/"},"modified":"2020-09-26T06:01:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-26T06:01:00","slug":"then-and-now-6-months-after-colorado-issued-stay-at-home-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/then-and-now-6-months-after-colorado-issued-stay-at-home-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Then and now: 6 months after Colorado issued stay-at-home order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Main
Main Avenue in downtown Durango bustles with activity Friday, six months to the day after Gov. Jared Polis issued a statewide stay-at-home order that shut down commerce and limited travel to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Business and tourism activity have rebounded nicely since then, although things are still different.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It may feel like another lifetime ago, but Friday was the six-month mark from when Gov. Jared Polis issued Colorado\u2019s first stay-at-home order, an extreme measure to slow the spread of COVID-19 at a time of deep confusion and worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a pretty incredible journey,\u201d said Rachel Herlihy, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. \u201cOur response was aggressive, swift and early as we identified cases in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December, and eventually made its way overseas into the U.S. a month later. The first confirmed case in Colorado was announced on March 5.<\/p>\n

Six months later, Colorado has more than 67,000 confirmed cases and nearly 2,000 deaths. Across the U.S., the virus has killed more than 200,000 people.<\/p>\n

Here in Southwest Colorado, emergency preparation began in February, said Liane Jollon, executive director of San Juan Basin Public Health, the health department that covers Archuleta and La Plata counties.<\/p>\n

At the time, health officials were unsure about the seriousness of the new virus, Jollon said. But soon, it became clear the virus was spreading at an alarming rate, and possibly held a higher mortality rate than normal viruses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we were right to get started that early with our planning,\u201d Jollon said.<\/p>\n

On March 13, Colorado reported its first COVID-19 death. On March 25, a week after restaurants were ordered to close down in-person dining and with cases spiking to over a thousand, Polis issued the stay-at-home order.<\/p>\n

\"Main
Main Avenue was a virtual ghost town March 26, the day a stay-at-home order took effect to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.<\/span>Terrance Siemon\/BCI file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The statewide shutdown did help \u201cflatten the curve,\u201d a term used to refer to the attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 over a longer period of time so that health care facilities would not be overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a large wave early on,\u201d Herlihy said. \u201cBut since, we\u2019ve really been quite successful in suppressing the virus in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the shutdown did have significant impacts to the economy. Some restaurants closed their doors for good, such as The Palace Restaurant as well as Eno Cocktail Lounge and Wine Bar, and unemployment went soaring.<\/p>\n

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