The state of Mono County’s coronavirus response

Mono County seems to be crushing the curve. Where have we been and where are we going — what now? Part one: data and demographics, local testing at Mammoth Hospital and the Elon Musk BiPAP machines.

By Monica Prelle

It’s been more than a month now since Mammoth Mountain closed and local tourism officials started asking visitors to stay away to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Mono County residents are mostly staying home and practicing physical distancing while public health officials continue to work relentlessly to protect the community from COVID-19 worst-case-scenarios.

Recent updates are hesitantly optimistic with no new hospitalized patients, increased testing capacity, and a hospital that is ready for surge capacity. Now many residents are asking: how are we doing and when will this end?

“By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods, despite the fact that we put forward framework to begin to consider the prospects of reopening certain sectors of our economy,” Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday. “I want folks to know we need to maintain our vigilance and we need to maintain the path that we are on, a path that is producing results.”

Mammoth Hospital CEO Tom Parker echoed the governor’s sentiment.

“We are doing a great job at distancing — it’s working, but we have to keep it up,” he said. “That’s not going to be our message forever. We are working on the next phase of guidance…