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March 20 – Colorado will further ease COVID-19 restrictions run by the state’s color-coded dial next week, with plans to ease the order for masks statewide in two weeks and then cede control of most public health orders to local governments in mid-April.
The proposed changes to the dial include reopening bars in most areas of the state for the first time since last summer and lifting all state limits on the size of personal gatherings.
On Friday evening, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released the draft plan for what it calls “Dial 3.0,” and asked the public for comments on the proposed changes, which will take effect – with possible changes – Wednesday.
The thrust of the new plan: to make it easier for counties to reach green level, the lower end of the dial, and remove most virus restrictions in counties at this point in the dial, including any catering capacity limit in restaurants.
Other changes would allow bars to reopen in reduced capacity Level Blue counties and lift all capacity limits on outdoor events in Level Green and Blue counties.
The plan released Friday night also calls for a statewide modified mask order to be issued on April 4. This directive would remove mask requirements in Level Green countries for everyone except students aged 11 to 18 until the end of the school year.
Private companies and local governments can still issue their own mask warrants.
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For the blue, yellow, orange and red levels, the mask mandate would remain in place for that same group of students and for any indoor public place with 10 or more people in attendance. The existing state mask order would remain in place for all counties reaching the purple level, the highest phase.
As part of that plan, Dial 3.0 would remain in effect until April 16, when a new statewide public health order would be issued to maintain the limits on non-seated indoor gatherings. Beyond that, the dial and previous public health ordinances would become guidelines that local governments could choose whether or not to follow.
The announcement of new changes to the state’s COVID-19 dial came on the same day the state opened immunization eligibility to an additional 2.5 million people, and as health officials public acknowledges the growing number of infections with more contagious coronavirus variants in the state and a leveling out of all cases and hospitalizations.
“Thanks to the commitment of all Coloradans, we are where we are now, able to be less restrictive and provide local communities and their public health agencies with more control while protecting public health,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the state. health department, in a statement. “It’s all about the balance. We have adopted the restrictions we need to slow the disease while trying to limit the ramifications of shutting down parts of the state and the impacts that ensue.”
Colorado implemented the color-coded dial in September to move the state’s 64 counties to different levels of public health restrictions based on local transmission of the virus and hospitalizations for COVID-19.
The state, however, has changed the metrics on the dial several times since then, including the addition of a new top-of-the-line – Level Purple – when it emerged that many counties were heading for another lockdown, and an easing of restrictions with the rollout of “Dial 2.0” last month.
Currently only two counties are at the green level – Crowley and Otero – and 45 are at the blue level, the second lowest level of restrictions. Level Blue counties in the metro area include Arapahoe and Jefferson.
The remaining 17 counties are at the yellow level, the next step on the dial, and that includes Denver, Adams, Douglas, and Boulder counties. Broomfield had moved up to the blue level, but earlier this month he was pushed back to the yellow level.
Denver recently approached qualifying for Level Blue before rising slightly in cases the city retreats; the numbers point in that direction again, and it is possible that the city will be eligible next week.
Changes in the Dial 3.0 plan include:
– Green level measures change to make it easier for counties to reach this stage, rising to 35 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people compared to 15 cases per 100,000
– Most Level Green restrictions are removed entirely, including dining caps for restaurants. Bars, gyms and indoor events would still be limited to 50% capacity or 500 people, whichever is smaller
– The parameters of Level Blue would also change, going from 36 to 100 cases per 100,000 people, from 15 to 100 cases per 100,000 people.
– Bars could reopen in Level Blue, with a capacity limit of 25% or 75 people, whichever is less
– Outdoor events at the green and blue levels would have no capacity restrictions, unless counties choose to implement them locally
– Retail, office and non-critical manufacturing in Level Blue counties could operate at 75% of capacity, up from 50%
– No state limit on the size of personal gatherings, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends avoiding large gatherings
– Businesses with 5-star state certification in Level Blue counties could operate at 60% capacity, without exceeding 50 people above the ceilings for restaurants and indoor events, and 25 people above ceilings for gymnasiums
State health officials say they are moving forward with the changes due to the growing number of Coloradans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
By the middle of next month, the public health agency plans to move to “a more local model,” which would allow county health departments to better control the types of capacity restrictions currently dictated by the dial.
The state’s health department invites Coloradans to review the Dial 3.0 proposal and submit comments through an online form. The deadline for comments is Monday noon. The state will release an updated draft on Tuesday, the changes take effect Wednesday.
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