Boulder Country Club reopens food service after four COVID cases

Food is being served again on the patio of Boulder Country Club. The club's restaurant closed for about 11 days at the end of June when four of its kitchen staff tested positive for the coronavirus. All four employees had mild cases of COVID-19, according to General Manager Mike Larson. At least two are recovered and back at work.

The club initially had two cases and, by law, had to report them to Boulder County Public Health. "The health department has been really good," Larson said. BCPH gave him guidance on how to handle the situation, which is technically considered an outbreak since more than two people were affected.

The dining operations were shut down, the club did a deep sanitizing and the health department worked on contact tracing. Employees who had possible exposure were asked to get tested. That's when the other two cases were identified.

BCC had been doing temperature checks and taking other precautions before the outbreak. But medical experts say the virus can be contagious before symptoms show up, or a person can be asymptomatic. Workplace outbreaks have become more common since the state began opening more businesses and services. "It's going to happen," Larson said.

Larson said he has received more positive than negative comments from the membership,

"They appreciated the fact that we did all the safety precautions," Larson said. "We know we have got to be careful. We have a lot of high risk clients with our membership. I'm first and foremost concerned about safety for members, staff and guests."