Colorado removes restrictions for large indoor gatherings, updates face covering requirements
On Monday the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment amended its public health order that will remove restrictions on large indoor gatherings and updated face covering requirements starting on Tuesday.
The state’s new face covering requirement now applies to people 12 or older, who are eligible for the vaccine but are either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, according to the order.
Additionally, the updated face mask requirement only applies in certain settings such as schools, camps, Colorado Department of Motor Vehicle officers, prisons, jails and emergency medical or other healthcare settings.
Some exemptions to the face mask requirement are allowed such as outdoor activities at schools and camps.
However, the updated order maintains some restrictions on certain activities with the goal goal to continue taking steps to limit the spread of COVID-19. For example, hospitals reporting COVID-19 data will continue, and some restrictions will be put into place if hospital capacity exceeds 85%, according to the order.
Colorado removes restrictions for large indoor gatherings, updates face covering requirements
On Monday the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment removed coronavirus restrictions on large indoor gatherings and updated face covering requirements starting on Tuesday.
The moves come as the state increasingly relaxes controls first put in place in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the state. The lifted restrictions on gatherings could allow bigger crowds for two Colorado professional sports teams battling in the playoffs: the Nuggets and Avalanche.
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The state’s new face covering requirement applies to people 12 or older, who are eligible for the vaccine but are either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, according to the order. The face covering requirement was first amended in mid May, allowing people to go without masks at most Colorado businesses if they were vaccinated.
Across the state, businesses, which can still set their own, stricter rules, have largely backed away from requiring masks for customers.
Additionally, the updated face mask requirement only applies in certain settings such as schools, camps, Colorado Department of Motor Vehicle offices, prisons, jails and emergency medical or other healthcare settings.
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Some exemptions to the face mask requirement are allowed such as outdoor activities at schools and camps.
The updated order maintains some restrictions on activities designed to to limit the spread of COVID-19. For example, hospitals will keep reporting COVID-19 data, and the state will step up restrictions if hospitals have 85 percent of their beds in use.
The hospital capacity portion of the order comes as pressure on healthcare facilities from the virus eases. The state health agency reported Monday that six percent of hospital beds were in use for patients suffering coronavirus.
The path to the lighter restrictions has been long and deadly in Colorado.
More than 542,000 Colorado residents — nearly 10% of the population — has had a confirmed coronavirus infection since the state began tracking data in early 2020. Of those patients, 6,580 have died as a result of the virus, according to state statistics.
