The Colorado National Guard provided COVID-19 tests for first responders

Members of the Colorado National Guard assist San Miguel County and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment with a COVID-19 drive-up testing station in Telluride, Colorado, March 17, 2020.

by: Keely Sugden

Posted: Jul 2, 2020 / 01:23 PM MDT

Updated: Jul 2, 2020 / 03:19 PM MDT

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – The Colorado National Guard’s Mobile Testing and Training teams provided COVID-19 tests for over 250 first responders working on wildland fire suppression in Cortez and Pagosa Springs from June 22-29.

“We are a rapid response team tasked to go out and get ahead of any outbreaks,” said U.S. Army Capt. Brian Doble, Task Force Test Support commander.

“Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team was the first team in the nation to stand up an incident command process that allowed for mission control in a socially distanced environment. We are coming in to test that their social distancing processes and protocols were effective.”

Colorado Governor Jared Polis ordered the testing which is provided by nearly 70 Colorado National Guard Soldiers and Airmen members.

The Task Force Test Support teams travel to sites across Colorado, it has three mobile testing and training teams.

Mobile Testing Teams perform testing, educate site staff on proper swabbing and decontamination procedures to prevent cross-contamination and evaluate social distancing protocols.

The ongoing mission is expected to continue through the end of July.