The strength of the Delta variant is causing a surge in COVID-19 cases, prompting Boulder County Public Health to strongly recommend that people 2 and over wear masks in all indoor settings regardless of vaccination status.
On Aug. 11, just 16 days after moving into the substantial transmission on July 26, Boulder County moved into high transmission, which is the highest level of transmission for COVID-19 under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention transmission tracker, according to a Boulder County Public Health news release. The CDC recommends that all individuals, including vaccinated individuals, wear a mask indoors in public in counties with substantial or high transmission.
“Cases of COVID-19 are surging in Boulder County due to the Delta variant,” said Camille Rodriguez, BCPH executive director, in the news release. “We are continuing to follow a variety of metrics, including the CDC’s guidance, data and recommendations that will help us protect the health of all people, keeping our businesses open and preserving our hospital and healthcare resources.”
Rodriguez said the Delta variant is highly transmissible and might cause more severe illness than prior strains in unvaccinated persons, including in younger populations.
On July 18, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment variant tracking indicated that the Delta variant is responsible for more than 95% of new COVID-19 cases in Colorado, the new release states.
As the COVID-19 landscape evolves with the Delta variant, BCPH is monitoring cases, testing, outbreaks, hospitalizations, deaths and other metrics as well as working closely with the CDPHE, the news release said.
As Public Health Order 2021-4 sunsets on Aug. 15 at 11:59 p.m., the county will no longer look only at hospital admissions to dictate levels on the prior state COVID dial. BCPH is actively working to define a robust set of metrics that will have indicators that match the transmission landscape set by Delta, the news release states.
“Previously, hospital admissions dictated the dial, but given that the Delta variant is quickly changing situations, we must look at the evolving data and information concerning Delta to formulate the best strategies to safely keep our community open,” Rodriguez said.
