On Friday, Polis said he remained confident that state hospitals are capable of handling any increase in cases. He attributed the increase in the percentage of positive cases to the reduction in the number of people seeking exams on vacation.
In the week of December 26, when the increase in positivity began, only 150 thousand tests were performed in the state, compared to more than 250 thousand in the previous week.
The governor said it was time to move to a less restrictive stance, “once the hospital’s capacity shows enough space.”
He said hospitalizations dropped from more than 1,600 in late November to just under 900 in January. This, he said, means “we can have a little more of a sustainable way of living in Colorado from a social, emotional and economic perspective, while monitoring health data in real time every day.
Dining at restaurants and other indoor activities are inherently risky
But while Polis is putting a lot of faith in the effectiveness and delivery of vaccines, his decision to allow meals in closed restaurants in the face of research on how easily the virus spreads in these circumstances, even limited to 25 percent capacity or 50 people, experts consider it risky.
“It seems like a bold step,” said Dr. S. Patrick Kachur, a public health doctor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
He said New York City faced similar tensions over the reopening of some businesses, including restaurants, after the virus was controlled after a brutal spike last spring.
But Kachur says that confined spaces, artificial ventilation, speaking aloud, people’s inability to wear masks when eating make meals indoors “a very risky situation and I think we should be cautious about decisions that affect people indoor meals “
The team that models Colorado coronavirus forecasts was not consulted before the governor relaxed the rules.
“We were not involved in that political decision, no,” said Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health.
But he said those connections are inherently difficult.
“I think the question of when to start easing policy measures that improve transmission control is a really difficult challenge,” said Samet. “And so I understand that the state and the governor in particular walk the fine line between protecting public health and ensuring the state’s economic health.”