Exposures Before Issuance of Stay-at-Home Orders Among Persons with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — Colorado, March 2020

Marshall, Kristen; Vahey, Grace M.; McDonald, Emily; Tate, Jacqueline E.; Herlihy, Rachel; Midgley, Claire M.; Kawasaki, Breanna; Killerby, Marie E.; Alden, Nisha B.; Staples, J. Erin; Basile, Alison J.; Beck, Alyssa R.; Boroughs, Karen L.; Burns, Paul L.; Buschmeier, Cathy L.; Byers, Nathaniel M.; Calvert, Amanda E.; Chambers, Trudy V.; Dennis, David T.; Fernandez, Mary Ellen; Ficalora, Katherine T.; Fitzpatrick, Kelly A.; Fleck-Derderian, Shannon; Foster, Erik S.; Goodman, Christin H.; Heck, Garrett; Huang, Claire Y-H.; Lambert, Amy J.; Lehane, Aine; Lehman, Jennifer A.; Lindell, Kristine; Lindsey, Nicole P.; Maes, Sarah E.; Nawrocki, Courtney; Nay, Nancy H.; Orloski, Kathleen A.; Osikowicz, Lynn; Parise, Christina; Perinet, Lara C.; Pilgard, Mark A.; Powers, Jordan A.; Rizzo, María F.; Russell, Brandy J.; Semcer, Tracey M.; Skinner, Benjamin; Spillane, Melanie

On March 26, 2020, Colorado instituted stay-at-home orders to reduce community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To inform public health messaging and measures that could be used after reopening, persons with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 during March 9-26 from nine Colorado counties comprising approximately 80% of the state's population†(Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld) were asked about possible exposures to SARS-CoV-2 before implementation of stay-at-home orders. Among 1,738 persons meeting the inclusion criteria§ in the Colorado Electronic Disease Surveillance System, 600 were randomly selected and interviewed using a standardized questionnaire by telephone. Data collection during April 10-30 included information about demographic characteristics, occupations, and selected activities in the 2 weeks preceding symptom onset. During the period examined, SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing was widely available in Colorado; community transmission was documented before implementation of the stay-at-home order. At least three attempts were made to contact all selected patients or their proxy (for deceased patients, minors, and persons unable to be interviewed [e.g., those with dementia]) on at least 2 separate days, at different times of day. Data were entered into a Research Electronic Data Capture (version 9.5.13; Vanderbilt University) database, and descriptive analyses used R statistical software (version 3.6.3; The R Foundation).