San Juan County remains one of eight counties in Colorado that has not reported a single positive case of the coronavirus, in part because it limited access to the outside world.
“Our reputation isn’t great since the 1919 pandemic,” said San Juan County Public Health Director Becky Joyce, referring to the Spanish flu, which killed 10% of the town’s population and resulted in two mass graves.
“We’re just trying to do better this time.”
A statewide stay-at-home order will be lifted next week, and San Juan County’s own public health order expires Thursday. But Silverton officials intend to operate on their own timeline, saying they don’t know when the town will be open to visitors.
“We don’t want to open up drastically,” Joyce said. “We want to go slow and monitor for cases.”
DeAnne Gallegos, director of the Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce, said certain sectors, like construction and real estate, would likely be the first to reopen. While the town wants to reopen its doors to visitors, it’s unclear when that might be safe.
In nearby Telluride, for instance, health officials found that four new positive cases of coronavirus were tied to people interacting with just one employee at a local restaurant, highlighting how quickly the virus can spread.
“All it takes is one person, and we know that,” Gallegos said. “That’s why we’ve held a strong line of defense, so our little village can protect itself.”
On March 24 – two days before Gov. Jared Polis’ stay-at-home order – Joyce enacted a public health order that prohibited outside visitors and unnecessary travel into the small mountain town north of Durango. It was one of the strictest in the state.
The policy, initially called a “locals only” policy, met resistance from some members of the public because it prohibited non-essential travel into the county, effectively closing off public lands to recreation. Second-home owners, who returned to their homes, were required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Some legal observers have questioned the constitutionality of counties kicking out nonresidents, but no major rulings have been issued during the coronavirus pandemic reversing any of those counties’ actions.
“Early on, there was a lot of pushback,” said San Juan County Sheriff Bruce Conrad, who later said the term “locals only” was a poor choice of words. “People thought we were trampling their rights. But we realized early on how devastating this could be, especially in a small community like Silverton.”
Aside from written warnings during the first few days after the health order, the Sheriff’s Office hasn’t had to enforce the travel ban. As the virus spread across the U.S., people realized the gravity of the situation, Conrad said.
Officials were able to close off Silverton because there are only two ways in – from Durango over two mountain passes or from Montrose over Red Mountain Pass.
But self-imposed isolation might not be the only reason why the town has reported no positive cases of the coronavirus, Joyce said.
Since the shutdown, Silverton hasn’t been able to test residents. A person who showed severe symptoms could be tested in Durango or Montrose, but that situation has happened only once, and the person tested negative.
Joyce acknowledged that some people in town might have mild symptoms and have chosen not to report it.
“It’s a great mystery: Have we had some cases and didn’t know about it?” Joyce said. “We just don’t know.”
Widespread testing became available in Durango through Cedar Diagnostics on April 9, but no positive cases showed up in San Juan County. Joyce said she received test kits this week, so the town is prepared for summer’s influx of visitors.
The risk for a small town like Silverton, with a population of about 600 residents, is that a disease can spread fast. And, the town simply doesn’t have the medical resources to handle an outbreak – the nearest hospital is more than an hour’s drive away.
“That’s why we came out of the gate so aggressive,” said Jim Donovan, director of San Juan County’s Office of Emergency Management.
Donovan said Silverton residents have stepped up to challenges posed by the virus. A food bank feeds 40 families a week, schools went online, and there’s a system of volunteers to help deliver groceries and medicine to people in self-quarantine.
“Our community has been cooperating very admirably,” he said.
The vulnerability that comes with being a small town also can help keep Silverton safe, Donovan said, especially when measures like social distancing require buy-in.
In fact, the other seven counties without a reported case of coronavirus are all in rural parts of the state: Bent, Cheyenne, Conejos, Dolores, Jackson, Kiowa and Sedgwick.
But what has been especially difficult, Gallegos said, is the about-face on welcoming outside visitors. As the director of the Chamber of Commerce, Gallegos said the town usually goes all out to bring tourists in.
In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the town’s largest economic driver in the winter – Silverton Mountain – closed in mid-March. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which hauls thousands of tourists to town, has shut down indefinitely.
And, San Juan County road crews do not plan to plow high mountain passes, a move motivated to save expenses that will also delay the influx of backcountry users, like ATV riders, in early summer.
The town’s economy has taken a hit, Gallegos said. A few businesses, like the grocery and hardware store, remain open, but most are closed. Just this week, the last open restaurant shut down.
“Losing March and April is a dramatic financial loss for the folks that stay open during that time,” she said.
But there is some silver lining: In Silverton, most businesses choose to close in winter and reopen in summer. So in a normal year, April is a shoulder season that doesn’t see much activity.
So when might people get back to enjoying the views of the San Juans? It appears that will be a week-to-week decision.
“It’s difficult to tell anyone to not come and share this amazing community with us, that’s against our grain,” Gallegos said. “So it will open up in time. But not in the same timeline as the state.”
jromeo@durangoherald.comAn earlier version of this story erred in saying San Juan County (Colo.) prohibited essential travel into the county. It banned non-essential travel.