Longmont City Council members Aren Rodriguez and Polly Christensen and Boulder City Council members Junie Joseph and Mark Wallach and Mayor Sam Weaver have self-quarantined after having been notified this week that they might have been exposed to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease while attending a National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C., last week.
Rodriguez, Christensen, Weaver, Joseph and Wallach are just five of the more than 80 officials from 22 Colorado cities and towns who might have been exposed to the disease during the March 9-11 conference, Colorado Municipal League Executive Director Kevin Bommer said in a Wednesday interview.
Bommer said CML has talked to the two Colorado local officials who tested positive for the virus and has notified all of the Colorado municipalities who had representatives at the national meeting, “out of an abundance of caution.”
Bommer, who also is in self-imposed quarantine because he also was at the conference, declined to identify the two officials but said both are from the same Colorado municipality. During a Loveland City Council meeting on Tuesday, Council Member John Fogle said that the two delegates were from Centennial.
Rodriguez said he was told that the Colorado Municipal League had contacted cities and towns who had members in the Colorado delegation to the National League of Cities conference to tell them that two members of the state delegation had tested positive for COVID-19.
“I am not currently showing any symptoms,” Rodriguez said in a Wednesday email. “I’m looking forward to be able to get back to work in a full capacity for the city very soon.”
Rodriguez, who’s staying home, said the Longmont City Attorney’s Office notified him Tuesday and “recommended that I self-quarantine consistent with the recommendations of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. I have not yet spoken with a physician.”
Neither Christensen nor Rodriguez attended Tuesday night’s Longmont City Council meeting. Both were able to speak and cast votes remotely during the meeting from home, under a new Longmont City Council policy that permits such electronic participation by members during emergencies such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Rodriguez said he there was the possibility of multiple contacts he may have had with the two reportedly infected representatives of other Colorado municipalities during the March 8-11 National League of Cities conference.
“Of the events listed” on the national conference’s agenda that might have been the occasion of his exposure, there was a Colorado issues briefing by the Colorado Municipal League, “with what appeared to be approximately 50-75 people in attendance. I had limited direct interaction with anyone at this particular briefing,” he said.
Christensen said in a Wednesday email that “I spoke with my doctor. Because I am not showing any signs of infection, they will not order a test for me, which I would gladly do. The entire country is lacking in tests and in the personnel to test for this infection. We are unfortunately far behind other countries, a cost-cutting measure of the current administration.”
She said, “My son Sam lives with me and has been very kind and solicitous. I come from a long line of farmers and thrifty people, so we always have plenty of staples. …
“Unlike so many others, I am lucky in this state of quarantine. I am retired, and although I live on a very modest income, it is not in danger of being eliminated entirely, as it is for very many people in our county. I have a small but comfortable home filled with books, music, and love. …”
“While quarantine is a great annoyance to me, it can be really financially devastating to many of our fellow Longmonters. We need to find ways to help them keep housed, fed, and be able to pay their bills,” she said.
The Colorado Municipal League’s Bommer said there were several conference sessions and meetings attended by the infected Colorado officials and other local delegates from Colorado, as well as times when they shared seats on bus rides.
Rodriguez said that under the recommendations of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, his quarantine will last two weeks from his possible exposure, if no evident symptoms appear.
“For me, my potential exposure was on March 10. That would put the quarantine date at March 24,” he said. “I have not been tested for the virus, and according to what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t likely be eligible to test unless symptomatic.”
Rodriguez, a real estate appraiser, said, “I am still able to work remotely and have a good amount of work on my desk. My non-work related time is spent in domesticity cleaning, cooking, etc.
“My wife,” Kelly Bocek-Rodriguez, “is the only human residing with me, and she is also not showing symptoms. She was also present in D.C. with me, but not at the particular briefing.”
All nine Loveland City Council members, who attended conference, are on self-quarantine. The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported Tuesday night that Fort Collins Mayor Wade Troxell, Mayor pro-tem Kristin Stephens, council members Emily Gorgol and Ken Summers and City Manager Darin Atteberry are in self-imposed quarantine.
The National League of Cities said on its website Tuesday that it had learned that day that two conference attendees had tested positive and that the two “were active participants in the conference — attending general sessions and workshops.”
Wallach and Joseph were present for Monday’s emergency Boulder Council meeting, where the public was not allowed to attend and officials sat at a distance of six feet or more apart.
“I am self-quarantined until next Tuesday,” Wallach said. “It is frustrating, as my wife is experiencing some chest tightness and has been told to go to emergency so they can run some cardiac tests, and I can neither go with her or even pick her up.”
Joseph, who is not feeling sick, said the meeting was the only time she left her house since returning from Washington, and plans to remain home until next Tuesday and possibly beyond.
“Staying home all day every day is emotionally taxing, so I am looking into social media to connect with friends, and community members. Now we have to be more creative in the way we connect with others,” Joseph said.
Weaver said he is also staying physically away from others until at least next Tuesday, and caught a cold on the trip to Washington or shortly after getting home, but he has no fever, shortness of breath or cough, symptoms of COVID-19, and was taking “an abundance of caution.” He said potential exposure he is aware of could have occurred March 10 or 11, and he remains working from home.
Boulder Mayor Pro Tem Bob Yates was also in Washington for the conference, but said he attended different events than those known to have been attended by the affected individuals, and he has experienced no symptoms.
“I believe this may be this country’s first substantial pandemic since 1918, so other than the small number of medical professionals who have served abroad in countries experiencing catastrophic health issues, this experience is largely new to those who live here,” Wallach said. “I also believe this could be more transformative for this country — and not in a good way — than 9/11.”
Staff writers Sam Lounsberry and Max Levy contributed to this report.
