ICYMI: They May Be On to Something in Colorado
CO’s Dem Gov: “Another month under a stay-at-home mandate wouldn’t eradicate the coronavirus”
NC’s Dem Gov: Stay-at-home order in effect for at least another month
Raleigh, N.C. — Colorado’s Governor, Democrat Jared Polis, announced last week a phased reopening of the Colorado economy — beginning today.
Gov. Polis pointed to updated modeling and to nursing home data as rationales for his decision.
By contrast, Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration refuses to release comparable information. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has refused to answer basic questions about its modeling data despite repeated demands from legislators.
Here are excerpts from The Denver Post’s story last week on Colorado’s moves:
“Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday defended his decision to allow some businesses to resume operations next week, saying another month under a stay-at-home mandate wouldn’t eradicate the coronavirus from Colorado — and stressing that the upcoming changes are incremental and not a return to normal life.
“‘We would never classify this as a grand reopening,’ Polis said, likening the state’s new ‘safer-at-home’ phase to a hike in the Rocky Mountains.
“‘We’re at the trailhead,’ he said. ‘We’re not going to summit it right away.’
Denver, along with some other Colorado counties, have stay-at-home orders that extend until April 30 and supersede any less restrictive guidance from the state, which will begin easing rules on Monday.
Polis reinforced his decision to move past the stay-at-home order at a news conference Wednesday as state public health officials revealed Colorado’s coronavirus death toll has surpassed 500, and new data revealed that 64% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths are tied to nursing homes and other assisted-living facilities.
State modeling showed that another two to four weeks under the stay-at-home mandate that expires Sunday wouldn’t cause a peak in COVID-19 patients to be any less severe, Polis said. It would only push that peak down the line.”
