Colorado COVID Cases Going up, Prompting Uncertainty Weeks Before Major Resort Openings
UPDATE 10/30/2020: Summit County Public Health has further restricted capacity at outdoor and indoor events, and announced that the county will face more restrictive measures next week if case numbers don’t improve.
Colorado’s Summit County Public Health issued a stay-at-home recommendation due to rising COVID cases today, with infections in the state reaching their highest levels yet. While not a legal mandate, this directive asks residents to take a series of spread-slowing precautions. This comes only weeks before the anticipated opening dates for many county ski resorts.
At this point, some Summit County mountains that typically open in mid-October haven’t even issued opening dates yet. Arapahoe Basin’s COO, Alan Henceroth, put out a statement a few days ago pleading with residents to take the recommended precautions and noting that most recent transmissions had occurred through local circles. He warned, “[i]f we want to enjoy winter in Summit County, we are going to have to turn things around quickly,”
Our Take
Unfortunately, heightened distancing controls may just be the reality across the United States this winter. Ski resort shutdowns are a true possibility if COVID cases continue to rise, and some resorts may be forced to start making good on their COVID pass protections. At least one other major destination state, Vermont, will be maintaining strict quarantine restrictions throughout the winter. Hopefully, the state gets its case count under control so visitors can enjoy what’ll already be a considerably restricted ski season.
