EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. — During an emergency meeting Wednesday, the Eagle County Board of Health (BOH) reinstated an indoor mask mandate after seeing an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases. The mask rule applies to everyone regardless of their vaccination status.
As of Wednesday, the county is reporting cases at over 1,000 per 100,000 people, the county's highest incidence rate during the pandemic, officials said. On Friday, Dec. 17, the BOH issued an alert asking people to wear face coverings in public indoor spaces as the county's cases were at around 300 cases per 100,000, but with the surge in cases they felt they needed to reinstate the mandate.
Officials theorize the surge in cases is due to the highly-transmissible omicron variant in the community, and the large number of visitors coming in for the holidays, according to a release from the BOH.
The mask mandate will be in effect until Jan. 17 and then will be reevaluated by the BOH.
The health department said their COVID-19 testing capacity is also strained. Providers may be unable to offer testing to people seeking it within an estimated two weeks, the release says.
Eagle County officials are recommending people hosting holiday parties to do so outdoors, if possible.
Grand, Pitkin and Summit counties, which all border Eagle County, have all seen their one-week positivity rates between 11-14% as of Wednesday.
A-Basin tweeted masks will be required inside their rental and rental shop, as well as the Kids Center.
The Town of Avon announced Wednesday its Town Hall would be closed to the public until further notice due to case spread. The town said people can make payments, and leave permits and building plans in its secured drop box in the town hall's lobby.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: COVID-19 Coronavirus
