Larimer County to Move to Safer at Home Level 2

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has ordered Larimer County to move from Safer at Home Level 1 to Level 2 on the state’s dial due to rising COVID-19 case counts and positivity rates within Larimer County over the past few weeks.

The Larimer County Health Department monitors case counts, positivity rates, and hospitalization trends to determine whether or not the spread of COVID-19 is rising. Larimer County’s COVID-19 incidence rate is 309, and the positivity rate is 6.9% as of Thursday, November 5, with both numbers have increased significantly since early September.

“We are at a critical juncture with our community response, and we are asking all our residents to increase their diligence and limit their interactions in the community,” said Tom Gonzales, Larimer County Public Health Director. “The recent increase in cases and hospitalizations in Larimer County means that we all must redouble our efforts to slow the spread of the virus,” Tom said.

The changes went into effect Friday, November 6 at 5 pm with the majority of Larimer county businesses have implemented and are currently enforcing strict safety protocols as required. Although Larimer County does not want to impose additional measures that will ultimately result in restricting movements and economic activity of the County’s residents, visitors, and businesses, scientific data supporting the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) order dictate that stricter protocols be put into place and enforced under these conditions.

The main differences between Safer at Home Level 1 (Blue) and Level 2 (Yellow) are as follows:

• Maximum attendees at indoor worship services are reduced from 175 to 50 people
• Maximum attendees at gyms are reduced from 75 to 50 people
• Maximum attendees at restaurants decrease from 175 to 50 (or up to 100 if the space has adequate social distancing)
• Maximum participants for group sports are reduced from 50 to 25 per activity
• Maximum attendees for indoor events are reduced from 175 to 100 and stays at 175 for outdoor events
• The last call will remain at 11:00 pm

The Larimer County Health Department will work with businesses to work through the new capacity limitations.

“We need to wear our masks, maintain social distance, and hold off on in-home private get-togethers right now,” said Larimer County Commissioner Steve Johnson. “We need to do everything we can to keep our workers employed and our kids attending in-person learning,” Steve said.

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