Department reports multiple cases

A frontline working group within Boulder Parks and Recreation has reported multiple employees have tested positive for coronavirus.

The first positive case was reported Oct. 3 and there have been seven total in the 11 days since then, according to Boulder spokesperson Sarah Huntley.

All parks and recreation employees who tested positive, which includes four men and three women ranging in age from 29 to 60, are in isolation or quarantine based on guidance from Boulder County Public Health. Colleagues exposed to them also are quarantining.

Huntley said some are experiencing symptoms while others are not.

“While we have a legal obligation and a commitment to our employees to keep their personal health information private, we can say that this work group performs its public-facing duties outdoors, where the risk is less, and did observe masking and physical distancing requirements when in the presence of community members,” Huntley wrote in an emailed statement.

Chana Goussetis, spokesperson with Boulder County Public Health confirmed that the city has had staff members test positive and said this can be common in a workplace.

“Unfortunately, cases and outbreaks within workplaces will come and go simply because they naturally bring people together so there is more opportunity for transmission of the virus,” she said.

Huntley added that the group works out of a facility closed to the public so Boulder officials think city staff are the only ones who have been exposed.

While Boulder does have data on these particular cases, including the race and ethnicity of those who tested positive, Huntley said the city is not maintaining data in a formal document or data set “because of medical privacy obligations.” As far as the city is aware, this marks the first instance of multiple positive test results in a single facility.

Similarly, Boulder County Public Health acknowledged it does not have an easy way to report cor

onavirus cases by entity, but Goussetis said knowing that information isn’t always beneficial.

“In fact, it can create a false sense of security if people believe they are more safe at a business that hasn’t had anyone report testing positive,” she said. “We must all continue to follow all precautions, no matter where we go and what we do.”

Boulder City Council member Mary Young requested University of Colorado Boulder race and ethnicity data in early September after a presentation by campus leaders at a council meeting. As soon as she heard that seven Boulder parks and recreation employees tested positive, Young said she emailed to make sure the city collected similar information about its own employees.

“They do, but because the number of people that tested positive is so small, they can’t really share it because we could then identify the people,” she said.

Huntley wrote that the data is important to collect and provide to health officials so they can examine and evaluate potential trends.

County and state public health data shows that people of color are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. They are more likely to get sick, become hospitalized and die than white people.

In Boulder County, Hispanic or Latinx people make up 14% of the population but represent 28% of all COVID-19 cases, 45% of hospitalizations and almost 17% of deaths.

For this reason, Young maintains it’s crucial to collect demographic data and use it.

“It’s important because if we want to address those disparities, that’s where you start,” she said.

If at some point a larger outbreak occurs among city staff members, Young didn’t say for certain whether she would push the city to release the data.

“I would certainly ask questions,” she said.