A COVID-19 outbreak at a Nissan dealership in Durango has killed three and infected 12, public health officials said Tuesday.

The first case in the outbreak was identified June 19, according to San Juan Basin Public Health. Since then, 11 others have been detected, with five confirmed by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment full-genome sequencing as cases of the delta variant.

Two of the outbreak’s cases were also confirmed Aug. 9 as “breakthrough” cases, which are COVID-19 infections among fully vaccinated individuals, so called because they’ve broken through the protective barrier provided by inoculation.

Since the outbreak began, four individuals have died after contracting COVID-19. However, the local health department said only three qualify as outbreak fatalities, per state health department criteria.

“The recent COVID-19 fatalities are a tragic loss for our community and a reminder that the pandemic is not over,” San Juan Basin Public Health Executive Director Liane Jollon said. “We are heartbroken to report the recent COVID-19-related deaths.”

San Juan Basin Public Health, which manages La Plata and Archuleta counties’ public health needs, said their investigations into the outbreak, as well as into another that took place before the one at the dealership, “suggested that the lack of public health precautions within the workplace, especially regarding unvaccinated staff, contributed to the elevated number of cases.”

In the face of the outbreak, the dealership, alongside the health department, implemented new mitigation response plans, like contact tracing and testing.

“We’re very grateful for the cooperation of Nissan of Durango in response to this outbreak and to every business still working to keep our communities safe,” Jollon said.

The outbreak comes among high transmission levels for the virus in La Plata and Archuleta counties. As of Aug. 10, both counties were in the red category for the Centers for Disease Control’s community transmission levels, indicating high rates of new cases of the virus.

According to San Juan Basin Public Health, communities in their jurisdiction were battling three other active outbreaks as they faced the one at the Nissan dealership. That outbreak also came on the heels of an at least 10-employee outbreak at a Pagosa Springs Walmart, one of the largest outbreaks the health department had investigated to date.

As such, the health department issued a public health advisory July 29, strongly encouraging masks, social distancing, testing when symptoms are present and hand washing for people in public indoor settings, regardless of their vaccination statuses.

Per the advisory’s recommendations, businesses should also make efforts to encourage remote work, stagger shifts and breaks to reduce contact among employees, and provide indoor ventilation, all when possible.

In general, businesses should assume their customers are unvaccinated and err on the side of caution, the health department said.

The best way for everyone to combat community spread, and especially the delta variant, is to “layer protection” methods against the virus’ transmission, such as wearing a mask and social distancing regardless of vaccination statuses, the department added.

“We urge everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible and follow SJBPH’s public health advisory by continuing to wear masks in public indoor settings like the grocery store and other businesses,” Jollon said.

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