BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A person who recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus said they attended a Black Lives Matter protest on University Hill at the University of Colorado Boulder, according to the local health department.
Boulder County Health said the person, who has not been identified, attended the protest on June 4. At the time, the person had mild symptoms — no taste, no smell — and wore a mask at the protest.
Carol Helwig, program manager of Boulder County Public Health Communicable Disease Control, said Boulder County is seeing an increased transmission of the coronavirus.
“Anyone who can stay home should do so to stop additional spread and illness from the virus, especially to our vulnerable residents for which it can be deadly,” she said.
The health department is now asking anybody who attended the June 4 event on University Hill to monitor their health, self-isolate if they develop symptoms and get tested for COVID-19. Symptoms may occurred two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and include:
· Fever or chills
· Cough
· Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
· Fatigue
· Muscle or body aches
· Headache
· New loss of taste or smell
· Sore throat
· Congestion or runny nose
· Nausea or vomiting
· Diarrhea
Free testing is available at the drive-up site at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Residents can also get tested through their own healthcare provider or independent testing site.
Boulder Health said current data shows that transmission most commonly happens when a person is close to somebody with the virus. It also occurs when somebody touches a contaminated surface and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth.
On Friday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said there is concern about an increase in positive COVID-19 tests due to the large gatherings.
“I think it is likely that there will be some transmission,” he said. “It’s almost a certainty that there was some transmission at those large gatherings. What we don’t know is it tens of people or hundreds of cases that arise from people who weren’t able to avoid the physical proximity as they participated in those.”