...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men....In a letter sent Tuesday, Mayor Brian Bagley directed the city manager and city attorney to prepare an ordinance that would make it illegal for any hospital or health care provider to treat a resident of a county or municipality where officials have refused to comply with Gov. Jared Polis’ emergency orders.
"Longmont must protect its hospitals so as to guarantee that they will be able to provide adequate medical treatment for its residents when needed, and not be pushed beyond their capacity," Bagley wrote.
In his letter, Bagley notes the rapidly rising COVID-19 hospitalization in Weld County. As of last week, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 45 out of 48 intensive care unit beds in Weld County were in use.
Bagley also said Weld County "uses Longmont’s available hospital capacity, at least in part, as a reason to refuse to comply with the governor’s emergency orders.
Longmont is located in both Weld and Boulder counties.
Last week, the CDPHE moved Weld County straight from "Level Yellow" to "Level Red" restrictions (bypassing Orange). The CDPHE said the stricter measures were imposed after it requested a COVID-19 mitigation plan from Weld County on Nov. 3 but did not receive one. Since then, the county’s positivity rate rose from roughly 11% to about 16%. Additionally, the number of new cases reported over a two-week period more than doubled from 1,479 to 3,442.
In response to moving to Level Red, Weld County commissioners then issued a statement saying the county will not enforce the new restrictions. It encouraged residents and businesses to make decisions they felt were best for them.