Larimer County Board of Heath has decided to transition to “Level Red” at 5pm on Tuesday, November 24, due to rising COVID-19 cases.

After hitting almost 9,000 in Corona Virus cases, there has been an increase in restrictions involving indoor dining, office operations, and personal gatherings.

“Red level defined by the state indicates “severe risk” and disallows any personal gatherings and all indoor dining at restaurants. It limits office operations to 10%,” Rebecca Powell told Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Although these restrictions are high, Larimer county is acting in this way for the safety of their community.

“We’re not acting off of fear, we’re acting off of data,” says Kevin Dugan to the Coloradoan. “We’re acting off of state and national recommendations.”

In order to get out of these restrictions, multiple improvements are going to have to happen.

“To get the county out of Level Red will require significantly reducing the number of cases and the positivity rate to the extent state officials see the county is making headway in slowing the spread of the disease,” says Public Health Director Tom Gonzales.

Overall, the restrictions need to be enforced in order to see hope in the future. “There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Dugan said. “But that means we want the people to be there at the end of tunnel, too.”