Longmont City Council in a draft letter to Weld County commissioners chides their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and pointed to the Weld’s rising pandemic numbers as evidence county’s approach to the virus is not working.
The letter also states some of Longmont’s COVID-19 cases could be due to Weld residents seeking care in the city’s hospitals and clinics.
The letter, along with a resolution that encourages neighboring counties to adhere to state COVID restrictions, will be reviewed by council on Tuesday.
Weld County has been criticized by Longmont officials for not complying with the restrictions that come with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment elevating Weld to red status on the state’s COVID-19 dial dashboard. Boulder County also is at red on the dial.
Mayor Brian Bagley also proposed, and then backed away from, an ordinance that would prioritize residents of Longmont and counties adhering to state COVID-19 restrictions over Weld County residents for treatment at local hospitals.
While Bagley backed off of the ordinance, he joined city council in approving the letter that demands Weld County commissioners “respect, adopt, and enforce all applicable state laws regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.”
By not adopting and enforcing public health guidance consistently across all counties, “we fail to contain the spread of infection, risk overwhelming our health care systems, put undue stress on our frontline workers, delay economic recovery, and risk the lives of members of our communities,“ the letter states.
Boulder County, in the past three weeks, has seen declining numbers following the implementation of level red restrictions, both in cumulative incidence and percent positivity rates, the letter states.
Weld County’s incidence rate is 67% higher than Boulder County’s and the two-week positivity rate is more than twice as high, the letter states.
COVID data
For information on Boulder County COVID cases, deaths, hospitalizations and trends, click here. For Weld County data, click here.
For statewide information, click here.
“Within Boulder County, Longmont continues to have the highest number of cases of any municipality,” the letter states. “It of course leads us to wonder if these higher case numbers in Longmont are a direct result of the alarming and continuing rise in cases in Weld County.”
Places that implement and enforce stricter measures to limit or prevent the spread of COVID-19 fare better in terms of lower fatality rates and less stress on their hospital systems, the letter states.
“In the worst areas, with few or no restrictions, we have seen how the health care system can become overwhelmed, health care workers fall ill, and ICUs and morgues run out of capacity,” the letter states. “Surely, this is not what we want for our communities, and we should as one to avoid these outcomes.”
The letter also calls for Weld commissioners to acknowledge the impact their lack of enforcement is having on the broader community and neighboring resources. It also states the commissioners need to “show leadership in making tough calls for the good of their residents.”
“We ask you to make a public statement to Weld County residents encouraging all to wear masks, to practice social distancing and to hand wash in order to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus,” the letter states.
Weld County commissioners last month blasted Bagley for his statements about the county’s handling of the pandemic. The commissioners stated they trusted their residents to do what was best for themselves, their families and businesses.
“Mayor Bagley is looking for someone/something to blame,” Weld commissioners said in a statement. “Hear this: Weld County is not the problem.”
