After careful consideration of the current Center for Disease Control recommendations and out of an abundance of caution, our Alliance is adjusting our current work and activities to limit the spread of the coronavirus in our communities. Starting today, our Alliance will be taking the following actions:

1. Canceling and postponing all major Alliance events from now until mid-April. Unfortunately, this includes the postponement of our Mesa County Business Sustainability Forum.  We will also be moving as many meetings, big or small, to online forums or conference calls. We encourage community affiliate groups to do the same. If you need help or training in hosting online meetings, we have multiple resources for you, just reach out and let us know.

2. Many state agency processes will be impacted by Colorado’s efforts to limit the spread of the virus, including the Colorado Legislative Session, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s Rulemakings, and others. Organizers will stay alert for changes and work with their leadership teams to respond appropriately and figure out how we can best participate. 

3. Western Colorado Alliance staff have the option of working from home but we will not be closing the office at this time. Any staff member feeling at all sick or symptomatic is instructed to stay home and seek testing immediately. We are canceling any out-of-state travel and limiting any out-of-county travel. We might change this as new recommendations and information become available. 

We will continue to monitor recommendations coming from our public health experts. In the meantime, we encourage people to stay calm, make informed decisions based on CDC and Colorado Department of Health and Environment recommendations, and to act with compassion towards our fellow humans in this time of uncertainty. 

And for pete’s sake, keep washing your hands!