The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has moved Larimer County from Safer at Home Level 2 to Level 4 on Colorado’s Dial. The decision was made due to rapidly increasing COVID-19 case counts, positivity rates across all ages, and significant hospital utilization impacts.
The Larimer County Board of Health voted to transition from Level 2 (Yellow) to Level 4 (Red). The Larimer County Health Department monitors case counts and positivity rates in addition to hospitalization trends to figure out if the spread of COVID-19 is rising.
“Larimer County businesses are at the heart of our community, and we encourage Larimer County residents to continue to support them as they innovate and adapt to these difficult changes once again,” said Larimer County Public Health Director Tom Gonzales. “Right now, it is critical that every Larimer County resident take the steps needed to prevent the transmission of COVID-19,” Tom said.
Larimer County’s COVID-19 14-day incident rate is 819/100,000, with the positivity rate being 12.1 percent as of Friday, November 20. Both numbers have increased significantly since early September.
Hospitalizations overall and of COVID-19 patients and ICU usage have continued to increase within Larimer County. UCHealth and Banner Health currently have a total of 94 patients in their hospitals located in Larimer County, with COVID-19 up from 51 patients reported on Monday, November 9.
Almost every business type will be impacted by this change, although some restrictions may vary depending on the industry or location. The Larimer County Health Department is committed to working with business owners to provide answers to questions and support the safe operations allowable in Level Red.
“Every single positive COVID-19 case in Larimer County is a step backwards for the entire community,” said Tom. “We have more testing and knowledge than we did in April, but today transmission is greater, cases are higher, and our hospitals are really feeling the impact,” Tom said.
For the latest credible information regarding COVID-19, visit: www.larimer.org/coronavirus or www.CDC.gov/coronavirus
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