EDITORIAL: COVID overkill persists even as we unmask

May 18—A day after Gov. Jared Polis ended Colorado's one-size-fits-all mask mandate, COVID restrictions kept some nursing moms and their babies from attending a volleyball tournament in Denver. One of the moms was even the coach of a team that was about to play.

It wasn't that the moms had refused to mask up for the event at the Colorado Convention Center last Saturday — though masks were made passé, to an extent, by the guv's announcement on Friday. It's that babies by definition aren't at least 16 years old, and no one younger than that was allowed to enter the tournament venue due to presumed COVID risks.

In this case, the prohibition doesn't appear to have been imposed by state or local authorities but rather the tournament's organizer, Colorado Crossroads. The affected moms were understandably incensed, and sympathizers rallied in support in front of the Convention Center Sunday.

Oddly enough, many of the players in the USA Volleyball Junior National Qualifier Tournament were younger than 16. Yet, as reported by The Gazette, Dixie Loveless, coach and owner of Mountain Peak Volleyball in Utah, had to forego coaching her team. Her baby won't take a bottle and can't go long without breastfeeding, so Loveless ended up standing outside the convention center until after 9:30 p.m. She used her phone to watch her team play.

So, what's the connection to the governor's order relaxing mask use (albeit with a number of asterisks)? If even our characteristically cautious and mindfully masked governor thinks it's time to ease up, the rest of Colorado certainly can afford to back off of more extreme COVID precautions. Particularly when measures like those enforced at the volleyball tournament probably don't hold water to begin with — and seem to be imposed on the fly and off the cuff.

If you can't recall any news reports over the past year about babies being super-spreaders of the virus, neither can we. Just the opposite. Consistent data compiled statewide, nationally and globally throughout the pandemic has made clear that the younger the person, the lower the risk — for spreading the virus or for developing any serious complications from catching it.

Even the volleyball tournament's sanctioning authority, USA Volleyball, issued a press statement saying it disagreed with Colorado Crossroads' policy. Colorado Crossroads did not respond to requests for a comment.

Coloradans already have been vaccinated in droves and are continuing to do so. The virus itself is increasingly on the wane and in the rearview mirror. Herd immunity reportedly is imminent. And now, the much-debated mask mandate — an emblem of resilience to some and coercion to others — is coming to an end. Colorado's COVID saga seems to be winding down.

It's time to restore balance to our lives, and we can start by refraining from overkill.

Arguably, it was forgivable a year ago amid COVID's many unknowns though even then, some safeguards seemed over the top. Like city parks departments taking down rims from backboards on outdoor basketball courts (yes, really) to discourage "mass" gatherings. Or masked motorists — driving with no one else in the car.

We've experienced and learned a lot since then. Let's move on.