Masks are once again being required for indoor areas at Great Sand Dunes National Park in the San Luis Valley.
The national park famed for its massive sand dunes in Mosca announced a renewed indoor mask mandate Monday. The National Park Service, the Sand Dunes’ governing body, bases its masking guidance on the Centers for Disease Control’s community levels tool, which tracks the infection rate among counties. According to those metrics, community spread of COVID-19 is high in surrounding Alamosa County.
“This may change on a weekly basis, please call the visitor center or check this webpage for updates that will be posted to help you plan your visit,” the park said on its website.
Masks at the park will be required in areas such as bathrooms and visitors centers until further notice, regardless of vaccination status. All national parks still require people to mask up before using provided transportation services.
Colorado’s other national parks — Rocky Mountain National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park — do not currently require masks indoors.
Hospitals across the state are being slammed by a “triple-pandemic” of RSV, flu and COVID-19. While cases and hospitalizations aren’t nearly as high as last year’s winter omicron surge, public health officials are warning the triple threat is overloading an already stressed hospital system.
Colorado is currently managing 387 COVID-19 hospitalizations. The state has also seen 295 flu hospitalizations and 1,139 RSV hospitalizations since October.
