On Friday, Polis said he was confident that state hospitals could handle any increase in the number of cases. He attributed the growth in the percentage of positive cases to a reduced number of people seeking tests during the holidays.
In the week of December 26, when the positivity surge began, only 150,000 tests were conducted in the state, up from more than 250,000 the week before.
The governor said the time was right to move to a less restrictive stance, “as soon as the hospital capacity showed enough space.”
He said the number of hospital admissions had dropped from over 1,600 around the end of November to just under 900 hospitalizations in January. That, he said, means, “we can live a little more sustainably in Colorado from a social, emotional and economic perspective, while monitoring health data in real time every day.”
Dining in restaurants and other indoor activities are inherently risky
But while Polis has great confidence in both the efficacy and delivery of vaccines, in light of research into how easily the virus is spread in that circumstance, his decision to allow indoor restaurant dining has been limited to even 25 percent of the capacity or 50 people, experts seem risky.
“It seems like a bold move,” said Dr. S. Patrick Kachur, a public health physician at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
He said New York City is facing similar tensions over the reopening of some businesses, including restaurants, after the virus was brought under control following a brutal spike last spring.
But Kachur says the confined spaces, artificial ventilation, talking loudly, people’s inability to wear masks while eating, dining indoors “makes a very risky situation and I think we should be careful about decisions that affect it. eat indoors. “
The team modeling Colorado’s coronavirus forecasts was not consulted before the governor relaxed the rules.
“We were not involved in that policy decision, no,” said Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health.
But he said these phone calls are inherently difficult.
“I think the question of when to start lightening policies that improve transmission control is a really tough challenge,” said Samet. “And so I understand that the state and the governor in particular are walking a fine line between protecting public health and ensuring the economic health of the state.”