Pueblo County Board of Commissioners have submitted a variance request seeking state approval to slowly reopen businesses ahead of the statewide safer at home restrictions.  

The next step is for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to review and approve some or all of the variance submitted by Pueblo County. Once approvals have been determined, the health department will be working with businesses on next steps to safely reopen. 

Counties are allowed to submit for a variance to the statewide safer at home orders certifying that the county can document the following criteria:

  • Prevalence of COVID-19 within the county; such as demonstration of consecutive days of decline in COVID-19 cases reported in the county.
  • Community-wide testing; COVID-19 testing needs to be readily available for all symptomatic individuals. 
  • Hospital capacity is well-managed; the number of ICU beds and ventilators are adequate, and enough PPE is available to handle the current COVID-19 cases.
  • Local containment measures; such as how the county will detect new cases and contain the threat of an outbreak. 
  • The application must include a COVID-19 suppression plan approved by the local public health agency, all hospitals within the county and a majority of county commissioners. 
  • Local businesses want to reopen safely and thoughtfully, and this variance process allows Pueblo County to continue that process. 

You can view the variance submission that is pending state approval here. 

 

  UPDATE  

 

Pueblo County Receives Partial Approval of Variance
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has approved portions of Pueblo County’s variance request to portions of Public Health Order 20-28 Safer at Home. The variance approval pertains to increases in the permitted size of outdoor and indoor activities with guidance for gathering sizes, house of worship, gyms, theaters, bowling alleys, indoor malls, bars, wineries, tasting rooms, distilleries, graduation ceremonies, libraries, private membership organizations, indoor malls entertainment and recreation (youth and adult league and recreational ball parks, dog parks, skating rinks, museums, race tracks). One request that was not approved in the variance was allowing personal services of estheticians to resume due to CDPHE still working on a framework for this service.

To read more on the variance click here.

If you have a business type that is not included in the Variance Request, you can submit your variance steps using the following form: