DENVER | First there was Stay at Home, then there was Safer at Home, and now Colorado leaders are transitioning into a “Protect our Neighbors” phase that eases COVID-19 precautions and allows local governments more flexibility in re-opening.
Gov. Jared Polis announced the draft measures during a news conference Monday.
The new phase, which is accepting comments for the next 48 hours, is slated to kick in for local governments when transmission of the virus is low, possibly in early July. Polis said it’s likely this phase will be in place until either a cure or vaccine is available for COVID-19. That’s not expected for up to another year and a half.
The phase allows all activities to occur at 50% of pre-pandemic capacity. Bars will be allowed to re-open at 25% capacity, and some indoor events (up to 500 people) can return.
Those limits may even be able to ease up even further in some parts of the state.
The framework for Protect Our Neighbors can be found here. And comments can be made here.
Polis told media during the announcement Coloradans are still highly encouraged to wear masks, practice social distancing and stay home if they are at a higher risk of contracting or becoming severely ill from the virus.
“Masks are the ticket to the Colorado we love,” he said, adding that the “proof is in the pudding,” Coloradans have seemed to take the pandemic seriously.
Twelve out of the past 14 days the state has seen a downward trend of cases, and hospitalizations continue to decrease. That hasn’t been the case in neighboring states like Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, which have seen a major resurgence of cases.
As part of the next phase, Polis said several counties can choose to band together to combine their public health resources as a more effective means of containing the coronavirus. The governor called local health agencies the “first line of defense” to close sites of outbreaks, conduct testing and contact tracing. If outbreaks worsen, the state can get involved, Polis said.
“If they fail to address it or the trend continues to move in the wrong direction, counties would backslide from ‘Protect our Neighbors’ back to ‘Safer at Home,’ or in an extreme life-threatening situation, to ‘Stay at Home,’” Polis said. He was referring to the original statewide measure he ordered severely restricting business and social gatherings, as well as the relaxed measures currently in effect.
Polis also announced that residential summer camps can open with as many as 10 children in individual indoor settings and 25 outdoors. Bars can also open at 25% capacity, or up to 50 people.
In recent weeks, Colorado has seen a downward trend in new cases of the coronavirus and in hospitalizations. As of Monday, the state had more than 29,000 cases and more than 1,300 deaths.
“Human behavior is the variable and Coloradans thus far have been extremely responsible,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.