Pueblo bar agrees to pay fine for COVID-19 violations as county braces for harsher restrictions
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is planning to move Pueblo County to a more restrictive level on the state’s COVID-19 dial later this week following a drastic increase in coronavirus cases.
In the past two weeks, Pueblo County recorded nearly as many COVID-19 cases as it did in the seven previous months. On Oct. 27, there were 1,880 COVID-19 cases reported in Pueblo County. As of Nov. 10, the Pueblo Department of Public Health reports 3,453.
“So right now we have more than twice as many cases as would push us into that Stay at Home,” said Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar. “We’re still at Level Two on the COVID dial. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to stay there. But it’s likely that later this week, we’ll have to roll back to Level Three and impose some additional restrictions.”
Mayor Gradisar says only a dramatic turnaround in Pueblo’s infection rate could stop tighter restrictions. Tuesday, he told people to cancel in-person Thanksgiving gatherings and advised employers to do twice as much to protect their employees.
"Starting tonight, and for the month of November, I am advising Puebloans:
1. Go to work, do your shopping, or eat dinner and then go home afterwards.
2. Offices in Pueblo should move to 25% teleworking status immediately.
3. Businesses need to double efforts to keep employees safe and workplaces sanitized.
4. Cancel your Thanksgiving gatherings or choose to hold a virtual one.
5. Limit gatherings to 10 people or under, and only one additional household.
6. Wear a mask anytime you leave your household, especially around older Puebloans.
Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar
The mayor says he will consider whether to extend Pueblo's controversial 10 p.m. curfew in light of COVID-19's continued spread.
Meanwhile, the Broadway Tavern & Grill has agreed to pay a fine for repeatedly violating COVID-19 rules for restaurants and bars. The fine comes in lieu of another liquor license suspension. According to the agreement with the Pueblo Beer and Liquor Licensing Board, the Broadway will train staff on proper protocol this week.
The board will then determine how much the Broadway will pay, based on its sales. The fine will range from $200 to $5,000. The liquor license board will vote on the agreement with Broadway Tavern & Grill at its bi-monthly meeting next Wednesday.
Gradisar says Pueblo’s COVID-19 Education and Compliance team visited 400 to 500 restaurants and bars over the last couple of months to make sure businesses comply with public health orders. The team visits other businesses as well.
“They do go to Walmart. They go to the big box stores,” Gradisar said. “But there, you’re passing someone in the aisle ordinarily, you’re not spending time in close proximity to somebody indoors.”
But Gradisar warns, it only takes a handful of businesses not following the rules for the virus to spread. According to the mayor’s office, a couple of local restaurants and bars in Pueblo are expected to show up on the state’s outbreak list in the near future.
The Broadway Tavern & Grill did not respond to KRDO's request for comment.
