CPRnews

What we have heard from the state is that it likely plays a role more in the severity of symptoms.

We know some mountain communities are hotspots, but that's likely due to early, undetected transmission, including from visitors who came from abroad as well as a lot of mixing in really tight spaces.

As the novel coronavirus affects the respiratory system, the thinner air in the mountains could exacerbate difficulty breathing or oxygenating blood.

Gov. Jared Polis has said in press conferences that some patients are being moved to hospitals at lower elevations for treatment. That said, we have not seen studies yet on the effects of altitude (send us ones if you have!). - KS + JD

What a great question.

Well, for one, we talk to them a lot more frequently because the information changes so often. So to report a given story, we often circle back to the same person several times to make sure the information we received that morning is still accurate.

We also spend a lot more time deep in the weeds of the numbers they are sharing. I have had a several-week email thread going with state COVID-19 data experts about exactly how to correctly interpret what they're sharing.

At the same time, we are wanting more information right as they are drowning in requests and work. That's particularly true of smaller public health districts or agencies. And so we are sometimes pushing to get critical information more urgently and with less success than we'd like. -KS

Whoops. Yes, we are. Does time still exist?

Lately, it's been hard to remember what day it is.

From Kate:

Aha! That's fascinating. I'd ask questions about mobility and availability of testing first, but don't know much about the situation of those in Ecuador. Given the density of high-elevation Quito, I have to think it's not about that. I'll be fascinated to see how this develops. Certainly here, we've seen lots of cases at high elevation.

From John:

That's fascinating.  And thank you for reaching out from Ecuador!  Do you have a Colorado connection?  I think the most important thing to consider about what places have high numbers or don't is driven by vectors of transmission.  In Colorado, our first cases were in the mountains and just a few people spread COVID-19 to a lot of other people.  Those first few cases all involved some sort of foreign travel.  That's how it made it's way from China to the US. One of Colorado's first cases came via a man who'd traveled to Italy.  In New York, I know a lot of the transmission there initially came not from China but Europe.  Also we know it was floating around in the US perhaps earlier than many people thought.