Messages From Your County Commissioners and Eagle County Public Health
1. Message From Your County Commissioners
Kathy Chandler-Henry, Jeanne McQueeney, Matt Scherr
Election Day is fast approaching. We are expecting a high volume of mail-in and drop-off ballots, as well as a number of folks who prefer to vote in person. Eagle County Clerk and Recorder Regina O’Brien is extremely confident that the postal service is ready to go and prepared. General Election ballots were mailed to all active, registered Eagle County voters on Oct 9. Voters check your mailboxes no later than tomorrow, Oct. 17, to ensure you have received your ballot. If you have received your ballot and are ready to return it, our six secure 24-hour ballot boxes are open now. New this year, you can track your ballot using this online tool.
If a ballot has not arrived, verify your voter registration at www.GoVoteColorado.gov or contact the Clerk’s election office.
Ballots can be mailed until Oct 26 or dropped in a ballot box until 7 p.m. Nov 3. Otherwise, voters must come into any Eagle County Voter Service Center to pick up a ballot or to vote in person. Voter Service Centers will open Oct. 19 in Eagle, El Jebel, and Avon at our new location at the Avon Town Hall. The Vail Voter Service Center opens Oct. 30. A map of all county vote centers and drop box locations is available here.
Remember, anything voters can do on Election Day they can do in a Voter Service Center starting Oct. 19, so there’s no need to wait until Election Day. For more information visit www.eaglecounty.us/clerk. Let’s have a safe and secure election so we can look forward to a great ski season and keep our schools open this fall.
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2. Message From Eagle County Public Health
Heath Harmon, Eagle County Director of Public Health and Environment
As I discussed in this email last week, the county continues to experience an upward trend in case counts. The same is true throughout Colorado and the U.S. While we are very fortunate to not have seen an increase in hospitalizations in Eagle County, that has not been the case for Colorado and many other states that are seeing increases in total and ICU admissions. More importantly for us is that we are seeing increasing disruptions among schools and businesses. Heading into the holiday and winter seasons, it is important that we bring the spread back under control to decrease these community-level impacts.
There are two reasons for the marked increase: 1) social gatherings where precautions such as distance and masks are not being utilized, and 2) after diagnosis, some people are refusing to cooperate with the public health interview necessary to reduce the spread to others.
I understand COVID-19 fatigue. Sustaining a behavior change for such a long period of time is an enormous ask. It is, however, one we have demonstrated we can handle. We need to return to those good habits and cooperation as we get deeper into fall and winter.
We continue to be a community that is divided in our concerns about COVID-19. Regardless of your own perspective, it is important to consider the perspective of others. Not only would this extend a level of respect to our neighbors, but we also need to consider the impact to our visitors. For my more detailed analysis of our current situation, check out my Oct. 9 editorial in the Vail Daily.
But the key takeaway is this: we can do this. So much of the effective strategy for containing COVID-19 is within our power as a community to achieve. It takes sacrifice, and it takes persistence, but it can be done. And it will absolutely be worth it. To keep our kids in school and to keep our mountains open this winter, we have to stay the course. As our new outreach campaign reiterates with its core message, “We got this!” Now let’s all do our part.
In this week’s Epi Update, Deputy Public Health Director Becky Larson explains that the case count has doubled this week and how risk factors change and should inform our behaviors.
Updates on the county’s response to COVID-19 are being shared at www.ECEmergency.org. The county’s forum for community discussions is at www.facebook.com/OneValleyVoice. Those with additional questions can email covidquestions@eaglecounty.us or call 970-328-9750.