March 20 – Colorado will further relax COVID-19 restrictions managed by the state’s color-coded dial next week, with plans to ease the statewide mask order within two weeks, then take control of most orders for public health in mid-April.
The proposed dial changes include reopening bars in most parts of the state for the first time since last summer and lifting all state-wide limits on the size of in-person gatherings.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released the draft plan for what it calls “Dial 3.0” Friday night, asking for public feedback on the proposed changes, which will go into effect Wednesday, with possible changes.
The main thrust of the new plan: make it easier for counties to reach Level Green, the lowest end of the dial, and remove most virus-related restrictions in counties at that stage of the dial, including any restrictions on eating capacity in restaurants.
Further changes would make it possible to reopen bars in Level Blue’s counties with reduced capacity and to remove all capacity limits for outdoor events in Level Green and Blue counties.
The plan released Friday night also calls for a modified statewide mask warrant to be issued April 4. That guideline would override the mask requirements in Level Green councils for everyone except for students from 11 to 18 years old until the end of the school year.
Private companies and local governments could still issue their own mask mandates.
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For the Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Red levels, the mask mandate would remain in effect for that same group of students and for any indoor public space with 10 or more attendees. The existing state mask order would remain in effect for all counties reaching Level Purple, the highest stage.
Under this plan, Dial 3.0 would remain in effect until April 16, at which point a new statewide public health order would be issued to continue the limits for indoor, non-seated meetings. Beyond that, the state dial and previous public health ordinances would become a guide that local governments could choose to follow or not.
The announcement of further changes to the state’s COVID-19 dial came on the same day that the state offered the opportunity to qualify another 2.5 million people for vaccination, and as public health officials recognize an increasing number of infections from more contagious coronavirus variants in the state and a flattening of general cases and hospitalizations.
“The dedication of all Coloradans allows us to be where we are today to be less restrictive and empower local communities and their public health agencies while still protecting public health,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the state. health department, in a statement. “It’s all about balance. We’ve put in place the restrictions we need to slow down the disease, while trying to limit the effects of closing parts of the state and the consequences that come with it.”
Colorado implemented the color-coded dial in September as a way to move the state’s 64 counties to varying levels of public health constraints based on local transmission of the virus and hospitalizations for COVID-19.
However, the state has changed the dial stats several times since then, including adding a new top – Level Purple – when it emerged that many counties were moving towards another lockdown, and easing restrictions with the rollout of ‘Dial 2.0 “last month.
Currently there are only two counties on Level Green – Crowley and Otero – and 45 are on Level Blue, the second lowest level of restrictions. Counties on Level Blue in the metro area include Arapahoe and Jefferson.
The remaining 17 counties are on Level Yellow, the next stage on the dial, and that includes Denver, Adams, Douglas, and Boulder counties. Broomfield had moved to Level Blue, but was bounced back to Level Yellow earlier this month.
Denver recently approached qualifying for Level Blue before retiring the city for a slight rise in cases; numbers are heading in that direction again, and it’s possible the city will qualify sometime next week.
Changes under the Dial 3.0 plan include:
– Metrics for Level Green change to make it easier for counties to reach that stage, from 15 cases per 100,000 to 35 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people
– Most restrictions in Level Green have been completely removed, including restaurant hats Bars, gyms and indoor events would still be held to a 50% capacity limit or a 500 person limit, whichever is the smaller
– Metrics for Level Blue would also change, from 36 to 100 cases per 100,000 people, from 15 to 100 cases per 100,000
– Bars could reopen in Level Blue, with a capacity limit of 25% or 75 people, whichever is less
– Outdoor events in Green and Blue levels have no capacity limitations unless the provinces choose to implement them at the local level
– Retail, offices and non-critical manufacturing in Level Blue’s counties could operate at 75% capacity, up 50%
– No state limit on in-person meetings, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends avoiding large gatherings
– Companies with a 5-star certification in the provinces of Level Blue can operate with a capacity of 60%, with a maximum of 50 people above the caps for restaurants and indoor events, and 25 people above the caps for gyms
State health officials say they are making progress with the changes due to the increasing number of Coloradans vaccinated against COVID-19.
By mid-next month, the state health agency plans to move to “a more local model,” which would give the county’s health departments more control over the types of capacity constraints currently dictated by the dial.
The state health department is inviting Coloradans to review the Dial 3.0 proposal and submit feedback via an online form. The deadline for feedback is Monday noon. The state will release an updated draft on Tuesday, with the changes taking effect Wednesday.
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