Pueblo County could be moving to Level Orange

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Tuesday, during a Special Board of Health meeting, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment laid out a draft of how Pueblo will handle the dial on the city and county level going forward.

In March, Governor Jared Polis announced the state was loosening its oversight for Cities and Counties. That takes effect on Friday, April 16th.

Now, the PDPHE is working on how to handle COVID restrictions and the dial on a city and county level.

During the meeting, health officials announced the PDPHE is adopting the state dial and plan to adjust and modify it as sees fit.

Pueblo was expected to stay in Level Yellow of the COVID-19 dial, as a draft of Pueblo's Public Health Order writes in part, "Unless otherwise ordered by Governor Polis, as of April 16, 2021 Pueblo County shall remain on Level Yellow of the COVID-19 Dial."

However, at Thursday's Board of Health meeting, Randy Evetts, Pueblo's Director of Health, says "we're seeing a prety sharp increase in numbers. We've had almost 500 cases in the last 7 days."

Evetts adds, "We're seeing a fairly rapid increase in the numbers again. We're aware that in our county we have at least five of the big variants."