If you think you might have the new coronavirus, Larimer County health officials want to know about it.
With the limited availability of testing for COVID-19, the health department has set up an online dashboard through which residents may self-report symptoms they are experiencing, such as cough, fever and shortness of breath.
The health department wants to get a better sense of how widespread the disease is in the community, spokesperson Katie O’Donnell said.
Beyond test results, officials don’t know how many people are sick and whether cases are increasing, she said. They also want to see whether efforts to slow the spread of the disease are being effective.
“We’re hoping that it will help us look at whether our physical distancing is making an impact,” O’Donnell said.
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The dashboard can be reached through the county’s COVID-19 website (https://bit.ly/3aaoU97) and by clicking on the “What you can do” prompt. Scroll down to the section marked “If you are sick.”
The questionnaire asks about when symptoms started and what they are. Submitted information goes into a database but the identity of those providing it is kept confidential.
As of Thursday afternoon, Larimer County had 61 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the state health department. More than 400 people had submitted information to the county’s coronavirus dashboard by Thursday.