Garfield County commissioners on Thursday declared restaurants and some other businesses to be essential in an attempt to spare them the impacts of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment moving the county to the red level on its COVID dial.
The state moved the county from orange to red effective at 5 p.m. on Thursday and the Garfield commissioners, notified of the change in advance, took their action minutes before it took effect, at the end of a special meeting.
Yvonne Long, the county’s public health director, said the state moved the county to red based on case data. COVID-19 cases in the county continue to rise, with 700 being tallied in the past two weeks.
While in the orange level, the county was continuing to provide variances to sectors such as restaurants and gyms, allowing them to operate at larger capacities than required at that level. That was based on what they said was their understanding from the state that the county variances remained in place, though CDPHE has told The Daily Sentinel that sector-wide variances generally don’t apply at that level.
Under the red level, CDPHE says indoor dining at restaurants is prohibited altogether, although things such as curbside sales continue to be allowed. Gyms are reduced to 10% of capacity or 10 people per room, whichever is lower.
Garfield Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said he was “shocked and disappointed” by the state’s decision to shift the county to the red level.
“It extremely hurts restaurants because it basically closes them down,” he said.
He said he thinks that’s discriminatory toward restaurants and their employees, affecting middle-class people trying to get through the Christmas season.
Said Commissioner Mike Samson, “I don’t think that COVID is being spread by people who go to restaurants or serve in the restaurants or whatever the case may be. … I think it’s very unfair to hammer those people in that way.”
Joshua Williams, environmental health manager for the county, suggested to the commissioners the idea of declaring some business sectors categorized as noncritical to be critical, noting the state’s recent action when it comes to houses of worship and life rites such as weddings and funerals. After the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary ruling in a New York case holding that limits on attendance at churches couldn’t be enforced, CDPHE deemed churches and life rites to be essential and not strictly bound by capacity limits.
Garfield commissioners on Thursday voted to deem restaurants, gyms and recreation facilities to be essential. The county says that moves them into the critical business category subject to the 50% capacity limit allowed by the state even in the case of counties at the red level on the COVID dial.
Said Commissioner John Martin, “We should not shut down the entire county because of this. It has not worked for a year with these policies. We need to try our own approach and that’s where I’m coming from.”
According to state data, so far Garfield County has had a total of 2,880 COVID-19 cases with 16 confirmed deaths due to the disease and two more deaths under investigation as possibly being due to COVID.
Five deaths from COVID have been reported in connection with an active outbreak at the Colorado State Veterans Home in Rifle, and three at the nearby E. Dene Moore Care Center in Rifle.
where there also is an active outbreak, according to state data.
The Link LonkDecember 11, 2020 at 02:15PM
https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/garfield-moved-to-red-on-covid-dial-declares-eateries-other-businesses-essential/article_bb4d8850-3b0a-11eb-86fb-130c9e2c7eb6.html
Garfield, moved to red on COVID dial, declares eateries, other businesses essential - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment