No COVID-19 restrictions planned in Weld County

GREELEY (AP) – Officials in Weld County plan to promote personal responsibility to stop the spread of COVID-19 now that Colorado has given counties the power to make decisions about public health rules.

In a statement on Thursday, the Weld County Board of Commissioners said county government will not issue restrictions or regulations “that hinder an individual’s ability to manage the day-to-day decisions for themselves and their family, or a business’s right to run their establishment in a manner that works best for them and the consumers they serve.”

The state announced the shift to local control on Tuesday but kept the statewide mask mandate in place along with capacity limits for indoor mass gatherings. At the time, the state said it expected that many local governments would enact restrictions that go beyond those statewide measures.

The change comes as COVID-19 cases rebound in Weld County, the state’s ninth-most populous, and across most of the state, the Greeley Tribune reported.

Six public health agencies serving the seven counties in the Denver-metro area and representing 60% of the state’s population have announced plans to collaborate on their pandemic response through the Metro Public Health Coalition.