Denver, Metro Region Announce Public Health Order to Preserve Hospital Capacity
As COVID-19 rates continue to surge across Colorado, with many hospitals in the state facing threats to their capacity, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock joined metro-area public health leaders Tuesday to announce a new face covering order for Denver, as a coordinated effort to prevent the region’s hospital system from becoming overwhelmed or collapsing.
Hancock, alongside Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) Executive Director Bob McDonald, joined other public health directors from Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, and Jefferson counties and officials from Denver Health to make the announcement.
“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve all understood that managing this pandemic was not something any one of us could do by going it alone,” Hancock says. “While the rate of vaccination is high in Denver and across the metro area, unvaccinated individuals are causing our hospital capacity to become dangerously strained, and regional protective actions have become necessary to reduce this dangerous pressure on our hospitals.”
The new mandate is effective today, requiring face coverings in Denver for those 2 and older in all public indoor spaces, and the public health order will remain in effect until January 2.
The order doesn’t alter current requirements for schools and childcare facilities, which have required masks since August. Proof of vaccination will be required for unseated, public events of more than 500 people the Denver metro area, per the recent order issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
While the official release notes that masks are proven tools to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, it goes on to state, “Vaccines are the long-term solution, which is why Denver has mandated vaccines for city employees and people working in high-risk settings.”
DDPHE is also looking forward, concentrating efforts to bring vaccinations to young children, who were recently approved to receive the vaccines, along with Denver’s most vulnerable communities and those with barriers to vaccine access.
Facilities are allowed to implement a vaccine verification program, rather than enforcing face coverings, though they must contact COVIDvaccine@
“Reducing infections now is imperative to alleviating strain on our regional hospital capacity,” McDonald said. “With the high rate of infection across Colorado, face coverings are a tool to help curb the spread of the virus and provide an extra layer of protection for those who are vaccinated. We must act now to ensure hospital beds are available for anyone in need.”
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