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The psychological impact of returning to tighter trade restrictions to try to curb the transmission of Covid-19 locally could be worse than the risk of the disease spreading, Garfield County commissioners said on Tuesday in a meeting with state health officials.
Commissioner Tom Jankovsky does not think this would have a significant impact on the rate of spread. But the negative impacts of restricting business activity could be devastating, he said.
“What you are telling us is to blame it on small businesses; our retail stores, our restaurants, the middle class, ”Jankovsky said in response to a recommendation from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment chief of staff Mara Brosy-Wiwchar, asking that the county move from restriction level “yellow” (concern) to “orange” (high risk).
“We know they can’t take another stop,” he said.
However, Brosy-Wiwchar indicated when asked that individual municipalities could enact more stringent restrictions, even if the county as a whole does not.
“If municipalities want to tighten things up, they have every right to do so,” Commission Chairman John Martin said. “We want to work with everyone and look at state guidance… (but) we just can’t keep pushing people down a road they won’t follow.
Brosy-Wiwchar requested the special videoconference meeting with commissioners on Tuesday to discuss the surge in new coronavirus cases in the county, which is similar to trends seen in neighboring counties of Eagle, Pitkin and Mesa, and elsewhere in the state.
Many counties have upgraded to Orange, which limits restaurants and most other businesses, as well as churches, to 25% of their building occupancy capacity.
Existing state-approved deviations for attractions, including the Hot Springs Pool, Iron Mountain Hot Springs, and Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, would not be affected if the county moved to the higher level of restrictions, Brosy-Wiwchar said.
“We have seen remarkable community transmission across Colorado based on the latest measurements,” she said, referring to the state’s Covid-19 dial. The dial measures risk levels based on 14-day incidence rate, test positivity rate, and hospital capacity.
Garfield County is in the “red” (severe risk) range based on its current incidence rate of 623.3 cases per 100,000 population, and its 12% positivity rate is “orange”.
So far, hospital capacity remains under control, falling into the least restrictive “green” category.
This is the key.
For now, the state continues to monitor where Garfield County as a whole falls within those parameters, but if local hospitals start to peak, the state could step in.
“As we work with the counties on the need to move on the dial, once that movement occurs they must enact and enforce these restrictions,” CDPHE said in a statement provided to the Post Independent after the meeting. “The shift of a county on the dial depends on the cumulative incidence rate over two weeks, the positivity rate and the hospitalization rates.”
Brosy-Wiwchar added at Tuesday’s meeting: “The movement on the dial does not mean punishment or demotion, but it is the appropriate level of openness for the level of transmission going on in your county.”
Commissioners said they believe action can be taken under current restrictions to try to limit the spread of the virus.
“There are other ways to do it,” Jankovsky said. “(County) Public Health has done a good job of mitigating… and people are becoming very aware of what’s going on in our communities. But they no longer want to move (towards stricter restrictions). “
To insist that wearing a mask and obeying public health restrictions are mandatory for businesses – both employees and customers – the county is stepping up its complaint-driven outreach, Jankovsky said.
If a complaint is made about a certain company, public health has been directed towards a reminder of the rules, he said.
“If it happens again, the name of this company is presented to this board and becomes public,” Jankovsky warned.
State health officials also changed the settings dial on Tuesday to include the intermediate “red” or severe risk level, which would be just below the new “purple” level. The purple level would constitute a stay-at-home order, similar to what was in place in the spring.
Jankovsky noted that the vast majority of Covid-19 cases in Garfield County, around 70%, have been in residents between the ages of 15 and 49.
“Where we’re seeing cases now is not in vulnerable populations,” he said, noting that the county’s measures have served to protect older residents and those who are more at risk. they were contracting the virus.
“I believe in this community and I know that we will do all we can to bring it under control,” Jankovsky said.
The CDPHE said in its follow-up statement: “We are at a crossroads and we continue to move in the wrong direction. We need to do everything we can to ensure that hospitals have the capacity to care for everyone who needs them.
“We need everyone to wear a mask, avoid socializing with anyone outside of their home and physically distancing themselves.”
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