ALAMOSA — As Colorado attempts to slowly reopen under Governor Jared Polis’ “Safer-atHome” order based on the COVID-19 pandemic, Alamosa County Commissioners are preparing to submit a variance to the state requesting more lenience which could allow more businesses to open.

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon with the Valley Courier, Commission Chairman Michael Yohn said the variance request will directly address the reopening of restaurants, bars and health clubs in Alamosa County. He believes the San Luis Valley can attribute their fairly low cases of confirmed COVID-19 virus to its sparse population and large geographic area.

Commissioner Darius Allen mentioned the valley’s 8,000 square miles of space and its estimated 48,000 population during a special commissioners meeting on Monday. Allen said some language concerning places of worship as well as campgrounds and RV parks could also be included in the variance.

Yohn also announced that the county annex, home to the clerk, treasurer, assessor and other county offices will be reopening Thursday with strict guidelines involving social distancing, wearing masks, etc. Protective screens were to be installed today to separate county staff from citizens needing their services. (See separate story.) All three commissioners and County Administrator Gigi Dennis reiterated Tuesday that the Alamosa community is resilient and will unite and emerge successfully.

“We will continue to be strong together,” Dennis said. “Our community has always been and will continue to be great at rallying around those in need.”

Yohn said the commissioners, County Attorney Jason Kelly and Della Cox-Vieira, director of Alamosa Public Health, and her staff are working together on the variance and plan to submit it to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). He added that it may take several days to get a response because many of the state’s 64 counties are probably planning to do the same thing.

The San Luis Valley Commissioners met Friday and discussed filing a variance as a group but decided that each county’s needs should be addressed individually.

According to the CDPHE website, to obtain a variance from the state’s orders, counties must:

• Submit a written application to CDPHE certifying that the county has low case counts and/or can document 14 consecutive days of decline in COVID-19 cases reported in the county.

• The application must include a COVID-19 suppression plan approved by the appropriate local public health authority, all hospitals within the county (unless no hospitals are located in the county) and a majority of county commissioners (or other county-level governing body).

• CDPHE shall review and approve a countyspecific COVID-19 suppression plan that meets the department’s public health standards. CDPHE shall not provide COVID-19 preparedness grant funding to any county that implements measures that are less restrictive than the standards contained in state orders without first obtaining approval from CDPHE.

Responding to a question about a possible COVID “outbreak” in Alamosa County over this past weekend, Dennis said 12 probable cases were tested and placed under isolation and quarantine until test results are returned. Yohn noted that local testing results will be critical to successfully achieving a variance from the state and “that data is just not quite available.”

Commissioner Helen Sigmund reminded the commission that May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the county is well aware of the stressful situation the virus has caused with social distancing and quarantines at home. “We are all in this together,” she said, “we need to keep hope and faith and connect with family and friends virtually if possible.” Sigmund added her appreciation to the community for continuing to patronize local restaurants with curbside and delivery options.

Allen noted that the commission has been meeting nearly daily as needs arise. “We know how important it is for us to stay on top of this,” he said, “but we’re dealing with a moving target. We want to take this seriously and have put some county projects on hold,” with tax and other revenue sources in question.

“Our goal is to get back to normal,” Allen said. Yohn said the commissioners are appreciative of residents who continue to take proper precautions. “No one likes restrictions,” he said. “We want to maintain the businesses we have here,” Yohn said. “They’ve supported us and we need to continue supporting them.”