WESTCLIFFE, Colo. (AP) – As many states across the country rollback COVID-19 restrictions, the Custer County Commissioners, citing major declines in coronavirus cases and progress in vaccinations, has voted to eliminate all pandemic-related restrictions on social gatherings, businesses, and government operations. The board voted Thursday to lift restrictions immediately. Health authorities in the southern Colorado county just west of Pueblo consulted with the state health department before recommending action to the board. Dr. Clifford Brown, director of the county Public Health Agency, told board members that a consistent decline in new COVID cases and successful efforts to vaccinate at-risk individuals merited the reopening. Custer County has reported 164 positive cases and one death since the pandemic began last year.
