All aboard! This is the last stop towards another stay-at-home order for Colorado.
15 Colorado counties are moving to a revised Level Red by Friday after the governor announced in a press conference Tuesday that the state will be intensifying COVID-19 restrictions in areas of Colorado with concerningly high new daily case counts.
“We clearly need a more drastic shift in behavior,” Polis said, after addressing increasing numbers of coronavirus cases and associated hospitalizations across Colorado.
The previous color-code COVID-19 dial—which was understood as green is good, orange is bad, and red is really bad—has been revised with new restrictions and now has a new color on it—purple.
The updated dial will be effective on Friday, Nov. 20. Check it out. #Covid19Colorado pic.twitter.com/sw7XmKEsEc
— Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (@CDPHE) November 17, 2020
Level Purple means ‘extreme risk’, which will bring a stay-at-home order to whichever county is at that level on the dial.
Level Red on the dial has new restrictions such as a ban on indoor dining and events, an 8 p.m. last call, and additional capacity limits on gyms, 5280 Magazine reports. The reduction in capacity for gyms is to 10% from 25%, with a limit on 10 total people down from 25.
Here’s an infographic that describes each restriction level in detail:
On Friday, Nov. 20, four counties home to seven ski areas will move to Level Red coronavirus restrictions—one step away from a full-on stay-at-home order which could shut them down again, like what happened in March.
The counties with ski areas moving to Level Red (Severe Risk) are:
- Clear Creek – Loveland Ski Area
- Routt – Steamboat Ski Resort
- Summit – Breckenridge Ski Resort, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, and Keystone Resort
- Boulder County – Eldora Mountain
Gov. Polis says that the intensification of these restrictions is meant to save lives, keep Colorado’s healthcare system from getting overwhelmed, and protect the state from economic collapse. Counties are also able to envoke additional restrictions where they see fit.
“Let’s do this Colorado,” Polis said “We need to reach down into that reservoir of will power that we have and show the resolve to simply avoid socializing with others, to wear a mask, to be careful and cautious so we can save lives and get our economy going.”
This could be Colorado’s last-ditch effort to avoid a statewide stay-at-home order which could shut down ski areas.
