Weld County commissioners walk back decision to stop posting COVID-19 information on social media
By Kelly Ragan
Walking back from a comment made late November, Weld County commissioners will continue posting information about COVID-19 on the county’s social media platforms.
In a statement Wednesday, Weld County spokesperson Jennifer Finch said the decision to stop posting “was not at the direction of the entire board.”
The reversal came after a NoCo Optimist report spotlighting a Nov. 24 board meeting drew statewide media attention.
“(This) has led to valuable discussion internally about the importance of government sharing information with the public and, as always, allowing the public to make their own informed decisions,” Finch said in the statement. “Through this statement, the board of commissioners has reiterated their position that information about COVID-19 will continue to be published, updated, and maintained on the Health Department’s webpages as well as Weld County’s two social media platforms.”
When asked Thursday if the county had any COVID-19 social media posts planned, Finch told the Greeley Tribune that while she wasn’t aware of any posts scheduled, the health department “has been notified to submit them again.”
“I would anticipate we would have one by tomorrow or Monday, but I have not heard for sure,” Finch said. “As soon as my team receives it, however, we will make sure it gets posted.”
As of Sunday, the county had not yet posted any additional COVID-19 information.
At the Nov. 24 meeting, commissioners agreed they would no longer approve Facebook posts about COVID-19 following pushback on recent social media posts.
During public comment, one woman told commissioners vaccines were dangerous, causing heart attacks in children (fact check: this has been debunked by medical experts.)
“There is blood on your hands for this, all of you,” said Sonia Miller, a Greeley resident. “You will not be held harmless by the public.”
According to the county’s website, 514 people have died due to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. About 51 people died last month.
As of Friday, there were two available ICU beds in Weld County regional hospitals.