While there are some activities moving forward as part of the Jefferson County Rodeo, a large portion of the annual event — the Northern Rodeo Association-sanctioned professional competition — was not approved by the county’s health officer.
Jefferson County Health Officer Joan Van Duynhoven provided a lengthy explanation behind her decision to reject the Jefferson County Rodeo Association’s (JCRA) health plan for the event. As the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on, the state requires that health plans be submitted and approved for events larger than 50 people.
Van Duynhoven reviews all health plans for large gatherings in the county, and either approves them or not. There is no appeal process in place at this time, she said.
The scaled down rodeo will include barrel racing, local competitions and a parade, and that health plan was approved by the health officer, according to Jefferson County Events Coordinator Bruce Binkowski, speaking at a Boulder Transition Advisory Committee meeting last week.
One of the main reasons for the cancellation of the NRA portion, was the likelihood that it would bring in people from outside the community, encouraging the spread of a highly contagious disease for which there are not yet vaccines, said Van Duynhoven.
“Our best tool in prevention is breaking the chain of transmission,” said Van Duynhoven in an email.
Montana, which initially had a low infection rate, began to see that change as the summer wore on. Cases started rising in Jefferson County in early July — a few weeks after the JCRA made its decision to proceed with the customary multi-day rodeo lineup.
Jefferson County went from three cases in the four months from March through the end of June, one of which was a man not in the state while infected, to 30 cases as of Aug. 10 with six active, according to the Jefferson County Public Health Office.
The rodeo’s companion event, the Jefferson County Fair, was canceled completely weeks after the Fair Board had initially decided to host a scaled down version. The Board cited concern over rising cases for its decision to entirely scrap the fair this year.
Both the fair and rodeo, during a normal year, could bring in 1,000 or more people from both within the state and beyond.
Meanwhile, the level of transmission in this community is increasing, as well as in areas from which attendees will travel, and larger events pose a greater risk, said VanDuyhoven.
Van Duynhoven cited the lack of understanding of the long term effects of this novel coronavirus, and that those promoting this type of event are struggling to understand and follow the guidance that has been given.
“How can we ensure they will be compliant with the measures needed to try and mitigate disease transmission?” she asked.
In dealing with the ongoing cases, the Jefferson County Public Health Department is already struggling to keep up with contacts, quarantines and follow-ups, and “a large increase in cases would significantly impact the quality of care we would be able to provide,” she said.
At one point, the Public Health Department reported that 100 Jefferson County residents were in quarantine — nearly 1 percent of the county’s total population.
Other challenges include testing and the availability of PPE (personal protective gear), said Van Duynhoven.
“Bringing children back to school is a priority over large events. As is providing sufficient testing to allow visitors in our long term care facilities. These are reasons to conserve resources. Having sufficient resources to promote a better quality of life for our children and senior members of society is the focus of our health department,” she said.
Jefferson County schools, meanwhile, have been working to develop reopening plans with the realization that some teachers and students will opt to not return to in-person classes and instead provide, or receive, remote learning.
The proposal for another large event, the Rockin’ the Rivers Music Festival, scheduled for August 12-14, also was rejected, both because of rising infection rates and because the anticipated crowd would have made social distancing difficult, according to Van Duynhoven.
Van Duynhoven pointed out that there is also evidence that people in Jefferson County are not wearing masks and not social distancing.
In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Steve Bullock last month mandated the wearing of masks in all indoor spaces open to the public, with certain caveats, and for certain organized outdoor activities where social distancing is not possible. The mandate applies to those over the age of five.
