Broomfield Public Health recommends masks indoors in response to delta variant

Brooklyn Dance, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Jul. 30—As cases of the COVID-19 delta variant continue to surge, Broomfield Public Health and Environment recommends wearing masks indoors again.

Broomfield is following the Centers for Disease Control in the recommendation, encouraging individuals to wear a mask in schools and indoor public settings, according to a Broomfield Community Update release.

The city and county of Broomfield is in the CDC's "substantial" zone of transmission with a seven-day incidence rate of 84.8. A seven-day cumulative incidence rate greater than 100 is considered "high."

Broomfield Public Health will continue to monitor the data to determine if further protections are needed.

"The indoor mask recommendation takes a cautious and proactive step as (Broomfield Public Health) continues to closely monitor the hospitalizations and death rates, especially as they are impacted by the new variant," the update states. "Data shows the delta variant is far more contagious than past strains of COVID-19, and emerging evidence suggests it spreads more than twice as easily as previous strains."

COVID-19 vaccines are the leading public health strategy to prevent the spread of the virus, the update notes. City and county data updated Thursday evening shows 81% of Broomfield residents 12 or older have initiated or completed vaccination. There have been 94,362 vaccine doses administered to residents, with 46,812 residents having completed vaccination and 2,815 residents who've started vaccination.

"Broomfield has done an outstanding job of getting vaccinated and following public health protections, but new data suggests fully vaccinated people who are infected with the delta variant can transmit the virus to other people," Broomfield Public Health Director Jason Vahling stated in the community update. "The single most important step you can take is to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect yourself and the most vulnerable among us."

To date, there have been 5,156 positive COVID-19 cases in Broomfield, according to the city and county's COVID website. Data shows 252 residents have been hospitalized and 77 residents have died from the virus.

Additional information and details on vaccine opportunities can be found at Broomfield.org/COVIDVaccine.