Denver’s mask mandate for businesses and public spaces will expire this week as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decline, although infections remain elevated amid the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.
“Beginning Friday, people will no longer be required under the public health order to wear a mask or show proof of vaccination for entry into a place of business in Denver,” Mayor Michael Hancock said during a news briefing.
But the city’s mask order for schools and child care centers will remain in place, he said.
Masks have been required in indoor public places in most of the metro area since November as officials in Denver, Jefferson, Adams and Arapahoe counties enacted mandates in an effort to stem the spread of the virus amid surging COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Denver’s “vax or mask” mandate allowed businesses that didn’t want to require masks to only admit people who are vaccinated against the virus.
The counties are reviewing their face-covering requirements, including those that expire this week, following a drop in cases and hospitalizations. Last week, the state health department ended its vaccination requirement for large, indoor events will end.
Colorado’s state modeling team predicts COVID-19 cases will decrease through February. But transmission remains high, with the team estimating last week that one in 19 Coloradans were contagious and that many people will likely get infected in the next month even as cases decline.
The Tri-County Health Department will meet later Monday to discuss whether to extend its mask requirement for schools and child care facilities in Adams and Arapahoe counties. And Jefferson County’s Board of Health will hold a meeting Friday to consider whether to lift the county’s mask requirement, including in schools.
Jefferson County Public Health said in a statement that such discussions are steps “toward a sustainable, safe off-ramp for public health mitigation measures, as our community works to transition to treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease — meaning one that is present, but controlled, in our community.”
Boulder, which mandated face coverings in September, did not answer a question about whether it is reconsidering its order.
“(The health department) is constantly evaluating important public health metrics, including the severity and impact of omicron, the availability of treatments to all age groups, and the availability of testing and high-quality masks,” said Angela Simental, spokeswoman for Boulder County Public Health, in an email. “At this time, the order remains in effect for all indoor public spaces.”
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