Longmont stil leads Boulder County in the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.
During this week’s meeting Dan Eamon, assistant public safety chief, updated Longmont City Council members on COVID-19 in Longmont and said the city as of Tuesday had 513.6 confirmed or probable cases per 100,000. The number had climbed to 535.5 as of Thursday, according to Boulder County Public Health data.
Boulder and Lafayette recorded the next highest totals per 100,000 at 369.2 and 359.2, respectively, as of Thursday per the county health department.
Countywide, there were 1,221 confirmed or probable COVID cases and 174 hospitalizations as of Thursday.
Eamon, when sharing a presentation from Boulder County Public Health with council, said 250 of the local cases have occurred in long-term care facilities. .
Although testing is up, Boulder County is reporting that there are fewer positive cases than in previous updates and that the curve is flattening off.
There has been concern about a growing number of positive tests among the Hispanic population in recent months. According to Boulder County, 13.8% of the county’s population identifies as Hispanic, but the demographic represents 47.6%of positive cases, with 43.5% requiring hospitalization. Of those in the Hispanic population who are infected, 14.5% of cases end in death, according to the county.
Council member Susie Hidalgo-Fahring asked to see data on how many of those cases were of people who work in service jobs without sick leave.
Harold Dominguez, city manager, attributed the higher numbers among the Latinx community to multi-generational family units, but said he is watching outbreak data to monitor cases in Longmont.
Mayor Brian Bagley asked if it were possible the Latinx community is doing a better job of seeking health care when infected than their non-Hispanic counterparts. He was referencing a chart that shows 77.8% of Boulder County’s population is white.
City staff are looking to get more information at a municipal level to have a better understanding of how to increase efforts to better inform and educate Longmont’s Latinx population about the virus, Eamon said.
The report presented to council also included the Google Mobility Report. This data is used to help officials determine at which places social gathering may be taking place, according to Eamon. It includes locations such as retail and recreation facilities, grocery stores and pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces and residences. On a state and county level, parks receive the majority of the use, indicating how much people are turning to exploring the outdoors in response to COVID stay-at-home and safer-at-home restrictions. Retail and recreation facilities have seen a drop in visitors, according to the report.
Eugene Mei, city attorney, rounded out the COVID-19 update with positive news. He reported the governor is planning to move to the Protect Your Neighbor stage of reopening at the end of June. This would mean that if local health departments can meet certain criteria they will be able to make decisions on reopenings in their jurisdictions. It is unclear what those criteria are, but Mei speculated they would include the number of positive cases, the ability of hospitals to manage those cases and the consistency with which individuals adhere to wearing facial coverings and maintaining social distance.
Protect Your Neighbor would allow larger gatherings of up to 50% of pre-COVID capacity, with no more than 500 people allowed to gather at one time.
Although statewide COVID restrictions might be loosening, several council members were wary of supporting the July 4 fireworks show when Sandi Seader, assistant city manager, asked for council feedback.
This year’s fireworks show was slated to be moved to the fire training facility near First Avenue and Main Street. Council was concerned about the ability of police officers to enforce no-gathering rules outlined in the event’s application to the city.
The show has since been canceled by Dominguez, in part because of the costs the city could incur in enforcing no-gathering rules and the health risks associated with large gatherings.
Correction: Due to confusion in the statistic of the number of white people who passed from COVID the sentence has been modified to clarify.
