After 16 months under a declared state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thursday Gov. Jared Polis lifted that order and all other health rules tied to the emergency.

The original emergency declaration was issued on March 11, 2020. Since then, Polis issued 115 orders related to the pandemic in 2021 and 271 orders during 2020. Most amended or extended orders on the emergency declaration. Other provisions included putting trials on hold, a banning evictions, setting mask mandates and briefly closing most Colorado businesses in the pandemic’s early weeks.

“I’m confident that the extraordinary powers are no longer needed,” Polis told Colorado Politics Thursday.

In an interview with Colorado Politics, Polis said lifting the emergency declaration is something he’s sought to do as soon as possible. But Polis said COVID-19 is not over, and 282 people remain hospitalized with the virus.  

Polis addressed the current delta variant outbreak in Mesa County, saying local areas may still remain in a state of emergency. Counties with higher vaccination rates are seeing much lower rates of COVID-19, he said. “Unfortunately, areas of state at 40-50% [vaccination rates] not high enough to effectively suppress the virus.”

Polis continued his call for residents to get inoculated against the virus, which posed the biggest health threat Colorado has seen seen the arrival of Spanish influenza more than a century ago.

Coronavirus will be with us for years and decades to come, he warned. 

Polis also said that those who have taken advantage of the $1,200 payment to go back to work will still be paid. The deadline for applying for that program ended on June 30. He said 22,000 people went back to work under that offer.

Lifting the emergency order means all other orders tied to the pandemic are now lifted, including a state ban on evictions. However, a federal ban, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, remains in place until the end of the month.

“This has been a challenging year for our state and country,” Polis said in a statement. “We’ve experienced pain and loss but through it all, Coloradans did their part, made good choices by wearing masks, socially distancing, and sacrificing moments with loved ones, and we succeeded in having one of the lowest COVID fatality rates in the nation.”

“Today, thanks to the decisions and resilience of Coloradans, our economy is roaring back and we are taking the next bold step to ensure Colorado is building back stronger than before,” Polis pledged.

As of this week, 70.32% of adult residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, matching the goal set by President Joe Biden.  Colorado is one of at least 20 states that have hit that benchmark, although vaccine rates are lower in some parts of the state, notably Mesa County, where recent outbreaks of the Delta variant have filled hospital wards.

Coloradans must remain vigilant against COVID variants and the state is managing the response to these challenges in partnership with local public health, Polis said.

The governor, though praised progress against the disease.

“I am therefore rescinding all previous executive orders issued due to COVID-19 and amending and restating this executive order to focus only on those measures related to the State’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic emergency,” said the governor’s new executive rescinding the state of emergency.