DENVER – Colorado will again change its COVID-19 dialing system next Wednesday to allow counties more flexibility to ease business restrictions as the state vaccinates more people.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) announced the changes in a press release released at 6 pm on Friday. The department is receiving feedback on the proposed changes by noon on Monday, before finalizing the dial changes on Tuesday, which will take effect on Wednesday.
“Colorado’s inhabitants have made significant sacrifices to reduce disease transmission, so it’s time to update the dial to reflect this reality, in addition to the growing number of people who are immunized,” said CDPHE Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan. “This updated proposal is based on Colorado disease and vaccination rates, as well as information from local public health agencies and local governments, and we are seeking public help to further refine it.”
CDPHE
The CDPHE says that in mid-April it will again make changes to “move to a more local model, allowing local public health agencies to take more control over the capacity restrictions that are currently determined by the dial”. The last change to the dial was in early February.
Among the changes in the last proposal are:
· There are no more state limits to the size of personal meetings, but a request for people to follow the CDC’s guidance to avoid large meetings.
· Counties will be able to apply for the less restrictive phase, Green Level, if they have 35 or fewer COVID cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The metric was previously 15 cases per 100,000 people.
· At the Green Level, bars, gyms and indoor spaces for events will be able to operate at a 50% capacity for up to 500 people, whichever is less, but most other restrictions have been removed.
· Counties on the Blue Level will be allowed to open 25% capacity bars for 75 people, whichever is less.
· Spaces for Blue Level and Green Level outdoor events will no longer have capacity restrictions, but counties may choose to implement them at the local level
· Retail, offices and non-critical manufacturing sites in Level Blue counties can operate at up to 75% of capacity, up from 50%.
· 5-star Blue Level businesses can operate with up to 60% capacity if they do not exceed 50 people above the limit for restaurants and indoor events, and 25 people above the limit for gyms.
You can find more information about capacity restrictions in the draft proposal by clicking here. And you can find out more about the updated “Dial 3.0” metrics proposal by clicking here. Coloradans can review the changes by clicking here and sending feedback here.
“These proposed updates reflect the growing number of coloradans who have received the COVID-19 vaccine in the past four months. People aged 70 and over were responsible for 38% of all hospitalizations during the Colorado pandemic. Almost 80% of this age group is fully vaccinated, and vaccines will be available to all inhabitants of Coloração over the age of 16 in mid-April, ”said the CDPHE in a press release.
“The role of the state in continuing to impose state restrictions is diminishing and the role of local communities in regulating and controlling the virus is increasing.”