MICHAEL RITTER – LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDITOR
It has been 387 days since the first COVID-19 lockdown took effect in Mesa County, and as of April 16, 2021, Government mandates and restrictions have been lifted in mesa county.
The timeline of the COVID-19 Corona Virus has been a long and challenging journey, and we have come a long way from 15 days to slow the spread. The end of COVID-19 is not yet upon us, but the end of government mandates regarding COVID-19 is. In the morning hours of Monday, March 22, the Mesa County Commissioners voted unanimously to pass Resolution No. 2021-15 SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES TO BE FREE TO CHOOSE HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM COVID-19, which, as it states, will end the government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions in the county starting on April 16.
The resolution called The Mesa County’s Free to Choose initiative. The initiative allows individuals to decide whether or not they wear a mask in public indoor spaces. The initiative also gives Businesses the option of limiting indoor capacities or not. Businesses are still free to require customers to wear masks in their businesses.
The March 22 resolution 2021-15 in its entirety: DOWNLOAD
In a statement given by County Commissioner Cody Davis to the Daily Sentinel, Davis said,
“I am a big believer in private property rights, and I implore you to respect and abide by the rules that certain businesses, restaurants, and organizations choose to enforce, If you don’t like those rules, obviously you’re free to patronize another store that chooses otherwise. Secondly, this resolution is made by Mesa County unilaterally and does not pertain to buildings under state or federal control, This means that when you go into buildings like the post office, the IRS building, the airport, which is under TSA control, CPW (Colorado Parks and Wildlife), BLM (Bureau of Land Management), you name it, when you visit these buildings you are still going to have to follow their rules.”
Commissioner Davis was elected in 2021 and is in his first term as a County Commissioner. Davis ran on a business first, limited government platform, focused on ending the government-mandated Businesses restrictions.
This resolution follows the announcement from Colo. Gov. Jared Polis, that beginning on April 16, counties have the authority to determine restrictions and mandates for themselves. Weeks later, this announcement was followed by executive order D 2021 079 and made by Polis on April 3. The order amends previous executive orders that require masks to be worn across the state and placed capacity restrictions on businesses. The new amended order directs counties to determine whether or not to require masks and other restrictions on businesses as long as they maintain low infection rates.
According to the data dashboard provided by Mesa County Public Health, Mesa County’s COVID-19 numbers have been on the decline since the beginning of 2021 in both infection rates and hospitalizations. According to the same source, the total vaccination doses given has reached 72,080. In total, there have been 13,871 positive COVID-19 cases and 124 Deaths from COVID-19.
According to information found on the Colorado Department of Health and Environment website, Mesa County will join 34 other Colorado counties that have also made the decision to get rid of Covid-19 mandates and restrictions.
More information on Mesa County’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic can be found here.
Video from the March 22 County Commissioner Meeting where Resolution 2021-15 was approved here
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