As part of a collaborative approach with elected leaders, area municipalities, business, as well as hospital partners, Mesa County Public Health (MCPH) received approval from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to implement a slightly modified plan from the statewide safer at home guidelines.
Mesa County Public Health intends to work with industries on a timeline that is reasonable to allow for our community partners to implement the recommendations. The variance will be incorporated into a Public Health Order that will be approved and signed in the next few days.
Mesa County’s variance allows for three specific sectors to soon begin operating at a limited capacity if they choose to do so. Recommendations, including social distancing precautions for each industry, will be provided once a timeline is determined. Those three areas are:
- Gyms
- Restaurants
- Places of Worship
Guidelines for all other sectors in Mesa County align with State recommendations. “This virus still poses a threat to our Public and personal health. We’re not there yet; stay the course,” Jeff Kuhr, Executive Director of Mesa County Public Health said. “This plan allows us to begin a localized, phased approach that will be implemented as we continue to work to ensure residents of Mesa County are protected from COVID-19. We’re asking that you stay the course; keep physical distancing measures in place, wear a face mask, and take precautions.”
“We want our local businesses to fully understand the guidelines and be empowered to implement them to ensure customer and employee safety,” Kuhr added. “The guidelines allow businesses to make decisions for themselves, but we want businesses to begin to welcome customers back on a timeline that makes sense for them.”
Mesa County Public Health will continue to provide focused attention on high-risk settings such as nursing homes, correctional facilities, and homeless service providers where outbreaks can have devastating effects, those types of congregate care facilities will continue to have solid measures in place to ensure the health and safety of residents. We ask that our most vulnerable population remain at home as much as possible and minimize contact with those outside of their household.
COVID-19 will be closely monitored through hospitalizations, disease investigation (including contact tracing), and testing. We hope to be able to continue to gradually ease restrictions in phases, however, we recognize the potential and are prepared for, more cases as well. The systems in place for monitoring COVID-19 will quickly identify if there is an increase in the spread of illness, if that happens, additional restrictions may be needed once again.
We’ve posted industry-specific information on a new dedicated section of our website, downloadable elements such as how-to guides, signs, and other resources are available.
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