A coalition of Larimer County organizations Friday applied for the state’s certified business-variance program, known locally as the “Level Up Program,” which could ease COVID-19 restrictions for certain businesses in the county.
The “5 star” business-variance program is administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and allows participating businesses to operate at one level above Larimer County’s position on the statewide dial, provided they demonstrate compliance with public health guidelines and safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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3 New COVID-19 Deaths, 142 New Cases Reported in Larimer County
The Larimer County Department of Health recorded 3 new COVID-19 deaths in Larimer County on Thursday (Dec. 17).
With the addition of those 3 deaths, the county has now lost 26 residents to COVID-19 in December alone, and 106 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Among the December deaths are 77-year-old Stan Scheer and his wife, Marian, 82, both of Windsor. The former Thompson School District superintendent died on Sunday (Dec. 13), and his wife died Dec. 7.
There have been more COVID-19 deaths in December in Larimer County than in any other month.
The Larimer County Department of Health also recorded 142 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the county s cumulative total of cases since March to 13,428.
Larimer County Surpasses 100 COVID-19 Deaths, Adds New Outbreaks
Larimer County officially surpassed 100 COVID-19 deaths as of Wednesday (Dec. 16).
The Larimer County Department of Health has recorded 103 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, 23 of which occurred within the first ten days of December.
November had originally been the deadliest month of the pandemic for Larimer County, as 21 deaths were recorded last month. Before November, the most deaths reported in any month were 13 in April and 12 in September.
Among the 103 deaths, 40 Loveland residents and 45 Fort Collins residents have died; other deaths were accounted for in smaller communities like Estes Park, which reported 9 deaths.
As of Wednesday (Dec. 16), there have been 98 recorded deaths in Larimer County since March.
According to Larimer County Public Health director Tom Gonzales, 39% of the 98 deaths were recorded in November and December.
Gonzales said in a county commissioners meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 15) that hospitals in the county are seeing a significant increase in the number of patients who need to be in intensive care.
“That is concerning,” Gonzales added.
On a brighter note, Gonzales noted that the county seems to have hit a plateau in COVID-19 cases.
“We are starting to see it slowly decline,” Gonzales said. He added the county has also not seen another wave after Thanksgiving, something health officials were initially very concerned about.
3 New Deaths, 340 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In Larimer County
There have now been 15 COVID-19 related deaths recorded in Larimer County since December 1.
The three new deaths include an 88-year-old Loveland woman, an 86-year-old Fort Collins man and a 94-year-old Fort Collins woman.
According to the Loveland Reporter-Herald, out of the 95 recorded deaths in the county, 83 cases have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 cases have been listed as probable - meaning those people displayed symptoms of the virus and were linked to a confirmed case, but were not tested.
47 COVID-19 related deaths in Larimer County are tied to outbreaks at long-term care facilities within the county.