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1098D8CF62BD18038725864200765DB1 Hearing Summary




PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For DISCUSSION ON EXECUTIVE ORDERS PERTAINING TO COVID-19 PER HB 20-1426

JOINT COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ON EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Date Dec 18, 2020      
Location Old State Library



Discussion on Executive Orders Pertaining to COVID-19 per HB 20-1426 - Committee Discussion Only


02:32:55 PM  
Speaker Becker, Chair,
called the joint meeting of the Executive Committee and Joint Budget Committee
to order.  Members of the committees were present in person and remotely.
 Jill Ryan, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment (CDPHE), began her portion of the presentation.  The
presentation can be found as Attachment A.  Director Ryan discussed
the state's progress on its COVID-19 response, reviewed the number of current
and prior COVID-19 cases, and Colorado's epidemiological curve, which has
reached approximately 15,000 new cases per day.  Director Ryan answered
questions from the committee.
02:42:14 PM  
Director Ryan reviewed
the seven-day incidence per 100,000 residents per county and the state
as a whole, daily hospital admissions, and the seven-day moving average.
 She spoke about racial and ethnic disparities and the correlation
between COVID-19 mortality rates and age.  Director Ryan answered
questions from the committee.
03:01:51 PM  
Scott Bookman, COVID-19
Incident Commander, spoke about hospital and ICU capacity and current ventilator
use.  He answered questions from the committee about the number of
ventilators available in the state and whether CDPHE tracks shortages of
both dialysis machines and ventilators.
03:04:25 PM  
Kevin Klein, Director,
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, began his portion
of the presentation.  He spoke about the capacities of alternative
care sites, hospital staff and bed shortages, and the Unified Coordination
Center Staffing Shortage Fusion Center.  Director Ryan spoke about
CDPHE's scaled response efforts and metrics over the past nine months in
terms of budget, staffing, and testing.  She reviewed the daily number
of people tested and the positivity percentage over the course of the virus.
 Director Ryan answered questions from the committee and spoke about
the more than 50 state-supported testing sites.
03:18:17 PM  
Director Ryan answered
questions about how the data that is collected through the testing and
contact tracing process is stored.  Kacey Wulff, Senior Advisor for
COVID-19 Response, Recovery, and Resiliency, answered questions about utilization
rates of the exposure notification system and the new technology being
used for widespread contact tracing.  Mr. Bookman provided several
updates about the vaccine task force, the status of the vaccine distribution
phases, and vaccine prioritization philosophy.  He reviewed the state's
distribution centers and providers, and the three key vaccine messages
that are necessary to communicate to Coloradans over the next few months.
03:34:18 PM  
Mr. Klein continued
to discuss the vaccine distribution process.  Ms. Wulff provided policy
updates and spoke about Colorado's epidemiological curve after the Thanksgiving
holiday compared to other states.  She reviewed the COVID-19 dial
framework and explained the new 5-Star Certification Program that encourages
businesses to implement safety measures beyond what is already required
by public health orders.  Ms. Wulff talked about the roadmap to reopening
schools for in-person learning.
03:50:24 PM  
Mr. Klein discussed
the state's public safety and emergency response to the pandemic, including
response priorities, current personal protective equipment  inventory,
and the involvement of the Colorado National Guard.






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