Hundreds gather, prompting warnings from health officials
It wasn’t quite on the level of the masses taking a dip in the holy Ganges in India, but Boulder Creek at Eben G. Fine Park on Monday offered a tableau featuring hundreds of young people in the water and on its banks. Any notion of social distancing had seemingly washed well downstream with the rest of the spring runoff.
Members of the Boulder County Public Health were alerted to the situation on Monday, and they don’t like what video clips were showing.
“We can quickly lose all that we’ve gained — we may have already,” said Boulder County Public Health spokesperson Chana Goussetis.
No police citations were issued Monday for public health violations, despite the display of indifference to public health orders in the heart of the city. Violations of a public health order are punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail.
In a statement, Boulder County Public Health Executive Director Jeff Zayach said, “I know it’s been difficult, but the video of people clearly gathering along the creek not only shows groups larger than 10 people, but there was also not adequate social distancing.
“Situations like these not only violate the state and local public health orders, but they put our whole community, our businesses, and our economy at risk. Please remember that it takes up to 14 days before we see who will become sick and spread the disease from this large gathering of people along the creek.”
Zayach once again urged people to “take this virus seriously” and limit gatherings to 10 people or less, and remain at least 6 feet from each other.
“Individual actions are putting our businesses and our most vulnerable in the community at further risk,” he said.
Goussetis, who noted that the community had succeeded in lowering the numbers of new COVID-19 cases and keeping area hospital and health care workers safer, said it was nevertheless “disappointing” to see local residents not considering the impact of their actions on others.
“We understand that this is a difficult time for all of us,” she said. “The days are beautiful and we want to finally get out and enjoy. But we’re not there yet.”
County health personnel were in contact with the Boulder Police Department on Tuesday to discuss the Eben G. Fine Park situation.
On Tuesday morning, however, the police department did not indicate a significant change in its approach was in the offing.
“Boulder police will continue to focus on a strong educational approach to emphasize wearing a mask and social distancing of 6 feet or more to encourage personal responsibility rather than issue citations,” said department spokesperson Laurie Ogden. “Boulder County is launching a regional media campaign this week to support these approaches.”