Rio Grande County limiting public gatherings

RIO GRANDE COUNTY - A public health order has been issued in Rio Grande County to limit group gatherings to 10 people. This difficult decision was made in consultation with Rio Grande County Board of Health officials and our emergency manager, in coordination with efforts in other parts of the state where the community spread of  COVID-19 has advanced with extreme speed over the past days. Public Health Director Emily Brown said, “We acknowledge that there will be economic impacts, and impacts on the community as a whole, and we do not take this lightly. Based on the best information from federal and state experts, extreme measures are needed now to blunt the impact on our community and try to prevent a much worse situation later. It is essential that the entire community get behind this, for the sake of our families and neighbors.”
The public health order allows for businesses to continue to operate, although most will need to modify the way they do business in order to meet the requirements of the order. Many businesses, schools, and community groups have been very proactive in this already, and for that, public health officials are grateful.
“Medical systems are being strained around the world,” says Brown. “We must do everything possible to slow this down so that our medical system will be able to care for those who need care the most.”
 For more information about COVID-19:
• CO HELP line 1-877-462-2911 (English and Spanish)
• SLV updates: https://www.slvemergency.org/
• Colorado updates and guidance: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/2019-novel-coronavirus
• CDC updates and guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Emily Brown, MPH, CPH
Director, Rio Grande County Public Health Department


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