Colorado’s governor always said hospital capacity would dictate a new mask mandate. So why hasn’t he issued one?
Jared Polis vowed Aug. 12 to take action before Colorado’s hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID patients. They are nearly overwhelmed.
Colorado Sun
In early August, as coronavirus infections and hospitalizations first began rising in Colorado following a summer lull, Gov. Jared Polis stood before reporters to answer questions about the worrying trend.
Asked when he might consider reissuing a statewide mask mandate or other such aggressive virus-fighting actions, he was clear.
“We will not overwhelm our hospitals,” he said then. “We will take the steps necessary to avoid doing that.”
Later, he added: “We don’t wait until we’re overwhelming our hospitals. We watch the trend, and we act before we are overwhelming our hospitals.”
Colorado is about to overwhelm its hospitals.
When Polis made his vow, on Aug. 12, there were 514 people hospitalized in Colorado with COVID-19. On Wednesday, there were 1,431. The state’s intensive care units were 95% full.
To continue reading, go to ColoradoSun.com.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.
Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.
If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.
