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Garfield County Relying On Individuals To Help Lower Case Numbers

GARFIELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Garfield County has been served with a mandate from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to lower its coronavirus numbers or risk losing its variance.

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The county now has to come up with a plan outlining ways it will slow the spread. They saw three two-week periods in which they exceeded 60 new cases.

Those new numbers place them in violation of their variance, approved May 23, which allows for larger groups inside restaurants and gyms.

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"We have these tools, and we're are doing the best we can to give them the most current data. We are sharing scientific guidance, but we don't have the power that the individual person has to actually help us lower those numbers," said Carrie Godes, a spokeswoman for Garfield County.

RELATED: 15 Counties At Risk Of Losing Coronavirus Variances

The positivity rate in Garfield County remains low despite the higher case numbers.

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