Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley said Wednesday night he will not pursue an ordinance denying Weld County residents treatment at either of the city’s two hospitals.

The announcement comes a day after Bagley asked city officials to prepare such an ordinance regarding access to UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital and Longmont United Hospital.

The initial comments from Bagley were made after Weld County Commissioners said they would not enforce the new, stricter health orders that were issued because of rising COVID-19 rates.

“My comments were not intended to exclude any of our residents, but rather to shine a light on the importance of acting in a unified way to protect our healthcare systems, and to keep our community healthy and our businesses open,” Bagley said in a news release.

“I also felt it incumbent upon me to shine a light on how one group’s refusal to act in the pubic interest impacts us all, and to compel my fellow elected officials to examine how we can do better to keep our word to our electors and our office.”

Currently Weld County stands at Level Red, which closes indoor dining and indoor venue events, while also lowering capacity limits on places of worship, fitness centers and retail stores.

Over the past month COVID-19 numbers have spiked and has resulted in the lack of hospital beds as Denver County only had 14 ICU beds on Tuesday, The Denver Gazette previously reported. 

Longmont is a home rule municipality with some parts of the city in Boulder County and other parts in Weld County.

Bagley said in the statement that he wants to work with Weld County officials to ensure compliance of the emergency orders, so that the two municipalities can move forward together. 

“I will continue to advocate that we all respect, apply, and enforce the laws of the state of Colorado – regardless of which side of County Line Road we reside on – and that we collectively support the efforts of our public health agencies to protect lives and livelihoods in our cities, counties, state, and beyond,” he said.