Larimer County Variance will Remain in Place

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has notified the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment that the county’s variance will remain in place as COVID-19 cases have stabilized for the past two weeks.

Larimer County received a letter from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Friday, July 17 notifying them that cases had risen enough that the local variance was at risk. Larimer County submitted a mitigation plan Monday, July 20 explaining how they would decrease and stabilize the number of cases.

The mitigation plan required community education and outreach, enforcement and compliance plans for facial coverings, social distancing and following required guidelines regarding businesses.

“I appreciate our unified efforts to suppress the spread of COVID-19 in Larimer County,” said Tom Gonzales, Public Health Director for Larimer County. “We have regrouped and stabilized our case rate,” Tom said.

Nevertheless, delays in test results are still a challenge for necessary contact tracing required to maintain a low number of cases in the community. Currently, Larimer County is exploring additional local lab options to aid in quicker test results and quick contact tracing.

“We must all continue to take this seriously and be diligent with handwashing, face coverings and social distancing,” said Tom. “We must continue to slow our cases to keep NOCO open at our current capacity,” Tom said.

For more information regarding COVID-19, visit: www.larimer.org/coronavirus or www.CDC.gov/coronavirus