State Approves Larimer County's Level Up Program Meant To Help Businesses
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Larimer County's Level Up Program got the green light from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Wednesday. The program is similar to the state's five star variance program.
Businesses in Larimer County can now apply to get a variance to operate at Level Orange which has fewer restrictions than the current Level Red. Businesses would need to be inspected, approved and certified before moving to Level Orange.
If the county should move to Level Orange, businesses can apply to operate at Level Yellow.
"This could make the difference between survival and closure for so many of our business partners. We appreciate the incredible work of our local Health Department staff and our partners to make this happen," said Ann Hutchison, Executive Vice President of the Fort Collins Area Chamber.
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State approval for the program comes less than a week after Larimer County announced it was not eligible for the program, since it had not seen sustained two week declines in COVID-19 cases, percent positivity and hospitalizations. On Saturday, Mindy McCloughan, President and CEO of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce, told CBS4 she expected the county to meet those goals by Wednesday.
Steve Johnson, Larimer County Commissioner, tells CBS4 more than 200 businesses helped county officials create the program. Moving forward, several of those business owners will serve as ambassadors and help mentor colleagues so they create the proper plans and stay in compliance. The county will also respond to complaints from community members.
"We're very confident that these businesses have gone above and beyond protocols they used this summer when they did operate safely, and we did not see a rise in our cases, so we will be watching the numbers very carefully and working closely with these businesses and making any adjustments we need," Johnson said.
As of Wednesday, 40 businesses in Larimer County were being inspected and were expected to be approved in the afternoon. Officials say 20 more businesses could be approved next week.
One of the first businesses to pass an inspection and open was Café Athens in Fort Collins. Manager Josh Nats said he learned about the Level Up program several weeks ago and spent about ten hours preparing a plan and applying.
"To be able to get the staff back, to reach out to friends, to family, to all the local community and say, hey we're back out here for you, we fought for you, we are ready," Nats said.
Aside from applying online, businesses need a COVID-19 prevention plan and outbreak plan for each business and/or business location. Other safety measures are required, such as strict mask and social distancing rules, as well as taking down names and phone numbers of customers for contact tracing.
Other than collecting contact information from visitors, Café Athens had already implemented many of the required safety measures earlier this year, Nats said.
With the new certification, they can now operate at 25% capacity, which amounts to 25 people. According to county officials, each table can only have guests from one household still.
"We are ready, and we are as safe as we possibly can be to make sure you can come out with your families," Nats said.
The Level Up Program can only be sustained if Larimer County keeps its COVID-19 numbers (cases, positivity percentage and hospitalizations) at a two-week sustained decline.
