CDC Community Level
The CDC Community Level is based on incidence rates, county COVID-19 hospital admission rates, and beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. It measures the impact of the virus on health and healthcare systems. The CDC updates Community Levels every Thursday by 6pm. For more information, visit the CDC Community Level website.
CDC Transmission Level
Community transmission level uses incidence rates and percent positivity for PCR tests to determine if there is a High, Substantial, Moderate, or Low rate of COVID-19 transmission in Pitkin County. This metric can be used to estimate how at-risk you may be of being exposed to COVID-19. Please read more on the CDC data tracker for Pitkin County.
Pitkin County COVID-19 Trends
The positivity rate is a measure of how many COVID-19 tests are positive divided by the total number of tests performed multiplied by 100. The incident rate is a standardized measure of the number of cases relative to the population that are reported to public health and occur in Pitkin County. This is calculated by dividing the total number of cases over the census population for Pitkin County, then multiplying by 100,000. The uppervalley wastewater COVID-19 surveillance is a measure of how much COVID-19 is present in wastewater samples collected from up-valley sites representing sampling locations. Because the Pitkin County population is so volatile, and the presence of COVID-19 in wastewater fluctuates with the population, this measure alone does not reflect the amount of COVID-19 activity in relation to the Pitkin County census population.
Dashboard levels indicate general trends in various COVID-19 metrics. Each week the average Incidence Rate and Percent Positivity is calculated, then compared to the prior two weeks to determine the trend. Wastewater is determined in a similar manner but is a lagging metric. For this, Pitkin County Public Health uses the most recent sampling in relation to the prior two samples to determine trends.
|Positivity Rate||Low Plateau|
|Incident Rate||Low Plateau|
|Uppervalley Wastewater COVID-19 Surveillance||Low Plateau|
- Increasing: the current data is higher relative to the previous two data points
- Decreasing: the current data is lower relative to the previous two data points
- Low Plateau: the current data has not changed relative to the previous two data points after a decrease
- Elevated Plateau: the current data has not changed relative to the previous two data points after an increase
The Aspen Valley Hospital Status metric is a measure of hospital bed capacity, emergency department visits, transfer capacity, and the number of healthcare workers out with illnesses (such as COVID-19 or flu). A strong enough impact on any single factor may affect the overall AVH status, but it can also be impacted by a moderate impact on any combination of these factors. The Aspen Valley Hospital Status is determined by the hospital and is updated by Public Health weekly.
|Aspen Valley Hospital Status||Comfortable|
- Comfortable: The hospital is operating at a comfortable capacity
- Cautious: The hospital has been moderately impacted by one or more factors
- Strained: One or more factors are causing the hospital to not be able to operate to its highest capacity
No individual metric indicates the amount of COVID-19 activity within Pitkin County or your risk of being exposed to or contracting COVID-19 in Pitkin County. All metrics should be used together to determine each individual’s risk and personal mitigation measures.
When metrics are increasing or at an elevated plateau, the risks of being exposed to COVID-19 are greater and increased personal mitigation measures, such as masking or reducing time in crowded indoor areas, are recommended. Pitkin County Public Health always recommends following the Health Best Practices to take care of yourself and those around you.
Federal and State-level Data Sources & Information
To see source data and to read more about the COVID-19 situation please see these Federal and state-level resources: