'It's Not Too Late:' Arapahoe County Set To Lose Variance

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, CO — Coronavirus positivity rates in Arapahoe County have risen above their allowance for the variance granted by the state in late June. County officials have submitted a mitigation plan to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the agency is expected to make a decision within a week about whether the county will lose its variance.

A variance is a leniency granted to businesses and churches that eases restrictions if the county proves that cases are under a certain level.

The state's public health agency requires counties to submit a mitigation plan if their positivity rates rise above certain levels — 5 percent in Arapahoe County's case. A positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive among those overall who have been tested.

As of Monday, Arapahoe County’s positivity rate for the previous two weeks has risen to more than 7 percent, according to data tracked by the Tri-County Health Department. Failure to reduce the rate as quickly as possible means many businesses would be forced to scale back their operations, or worse — close.

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Arapahoe County Board Chair Nancy Sharpe said it's not too late for residents and businesses to take action.

“The advice about how to slow or stop the spread of COVID has remained consistent for some time,” Sharpe said in a statement.

“In addition to meeting the conditions laid out in the variance, everyone should be wearing a mask and maintaining at least 6 feet of social distancing from others whenever they’re outside their homes, and they also should wash their hands frequently throughout the day. Failure to do this may result in further restrictions that no one wants to see.”