Up to 250 people now allowed at outdoor gatherings in Phillips Co.

Counties across the state of Colorado are working to put in place COVID-19 guidelines that meet their specific needs. To date, 50 of the 64 counties have received approval for variances that are less protective than the overall state order.

On July 2, Phillips County’s second variance was approved by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. When evaluating whether a variance will be approved, the CDPHE puts the county’s COVID prevalence in one of three categories: low, medium or high.

Phillips County, with just 16 COVID cases to date and one active case within two weeks of the variance request, is in the low category. That allows the county to have more relaxed guidelines.

In general, both indoor and outdoor gatherings in Phillips County are now limited to 50% of the posted occupancy code ensuring a minimum 28 square feet per person. Indoor gatherings should not exceed 175 people at any given time, and outdoor gatherings are limited to 250 people.

The Phillips County Board of Commissioners pushed to have the limits set at 500 people indoors and 575 people outdoors, but the CDPHE did not approve such capacities.

Commissioners also requested that noncritical office based businesses and noncritical manufacturing be allowed to resume unrestrictive staffing. That request was likewise denied.

Another area in which the commissioners would like to see guidelines relaxed is senior care facility visitation. That is not, however, something that can be granted with these variances, which specifically address Public Health Order 20-28 Safer at Home.

Visitation at senior care facilities, on the other hand, is regulated pursuant to Public Health Order 20-20. The CDPHE did recently authorize outdoor visitation at such facilities and is working on plans to allow for indoor visitation in the future.

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