Pueblo County working to create mask mandate for children over 2 in schools
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Pueblo County Department of Public Health and the Environment is working to create a public health order requiring masks for students in Pueblo County schools.
Wednesday, the Pueblo County Board of Health met and voted on the public health directive.
According to our news partners at the Pueblo Chieftain, the mandate would apply to children two years of age and older in schools, childcare facilities, and camps.
The discussion was initially presented to the board by Public Health Director Randy Evetts on July 28, 2021. At the end of that meeting, the Board deferred the decision for a public health order until the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued additional guidance based on CDC's recommendation.
On July 27, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all teachers, staff, students, and visitors in schools wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
Pueblo School District 60 told KRDO they are aware of the decision made by the PCDPHE and says the district will comply and enforce the public health order once it's approved.
The PHO still needs to be drafted and will be drafted by next week.
Seven schools already have COVID cases, it's unclear how many students have been affected. At this time, the Public Health Department is not considering a county-wide mask mandate.
Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar told KRDO he asked his city attorney to draft a mandate requiring masks in all public city-owned buildings.
The City of Manitou Springs announced a similar mask mandate on August 9, which was later extended to all public indoor areas within the city.
According to the PCDPHE, the positivity rate in Pueblo County is 4.3%, and the weekly incident rate of COVID-19 cases within the last seven days is 139.2%. Officials say the Delta variant is causing most of the cases in Pueblo County.
In August of 2020, there was a total of 242 cases. As of August 25, 2021, there are 326 cases. Roughly a 75% increase.
