Posted on March 16, 2020 at 4:11 PM by Julie Sutor
New restrictions are designed to facilitate social distancing
Summit County is issuing a public health order Monday afternoon curtailing several business and community activities in order to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Summit County.
All dine-in activity in all restaurants, bars and cafeterias in Summit County is prohibited, effective 10 p.m., Monday, March 16. Restaurants will continue to be allowed to provide delivery and take-out options. Summit County Public Health strongly recommends that all patrons make payment transactions, including tips, electronically over the phone or online during the ordering process. Officials are discouraging the exchange of credit cards, cash or checks during any pickups or deliveries.
“Our restaurant owners and their employees work hard every day to ensure food safety for their customers by practicing good handwashing, preventing cross contamination and excluding sick employees,” Summit County Public Health Director Amy Wineland said. “During this COVID-19 response, they are working even harder to ensure that the food they produce is safe. Because the primary mode of COVID-19 transmission is person-to-person, not through the preparation, service and consumption of food, we believe that take-out and delivery services pose very low risk to the public and serve a critical need in the community.”
Several transportation and travel restrictions will go into effect this week. Summit Stage public transit services will be suspended after the conclusion of service tonight, at approximately 2 a.m. Buses will not resume service Tuesday morning until further notice. Ride share services, such as Uber and Lyft, will be permitted to operate until 11:59 p.m., Monday, March 16, and service will be suspended thereafter. All shuttle services (e.g., to and from airports and other Front Range locations) will be allowed to operate until 12 noon, Thursday, March 19, although officials stress that such services should only be provided and utilized for the purpose of transporting visitors away from Summit County or transporting residents to their primary residences within Summit County.
All retail business locations that see foot traffic from the general public will be required to close effective 10 p.m., Monday, March 16. The only retail locations permitted to remain open will be banks, grocery stores, liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, pharmacies and gas stations.
All lodging businesses, including hotels, motels, timeshares and short term rentals (e.g., Airbnb, VRBO) are required to close by 12 noon, Thursday, March 19.
All these changes are effective until further notice, when Summit County Public Health has determined that this degree of social distancing is no longer required.
“We absolutely realize how difficult and painful these restrictions are,” Wineland said. “But we feel strongly that these steps are necessary to head off the worst case scenario. We are actively working to flatten the curve – which means reducing the peak number of COVID-19 cases we see in Summit County.”
As of 10:30 a.m., Monday, Summit County had two presumptive positive COVID-19 cases, one in isolation in Denver, the second in isolation in Frisco. Forty-seven Summit County residents and visitors have been tested, with 11 negative, 2 positive and 34 pending.
The Summit County Department of Human Services is providing support to community members who need assistance with food, medication or transportation. Anyone who needs help meeting basic needs should call 970-668-2940 or 970-668-2942.