Colorado Removes Indoor Mask Mandate as Long as 80% of Group Are Vaccinated | ‘Proof of Vaccination’ Will Be Required

Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced yesterday that he has amended and extended the statewide mask Executive Order as Colorado continues to work towards increasing vaccinations.  

• Related: Colorado Governor Announces End of Mandatory Mask Wearing

Coloradans gathering inside in groups of ten or more are no longer required to wear masks if at least 80% of the group is vaccinated against COVID-19, he announced. Citizens will be required to show ‘proof of vaccination’ to be able to remove their masks, although what that proof is has yet to be confirmed. How it will be policed, and who is expected to enforce it, are also unknown.

The order also extends other parts of the statewide mask mandate for another 30 days. The official press release is below:

EO Allows Individuals to Remove Masks in Public Indoor Spaces if 80% of Individuals Have Proof of Vaccination

DENVER – Governor Jared Polis announced that he amended and extended the statewide mask Executive Order as Colorado continues to work towards increasing vaccinations.

The indoor mask order remains in effect for all schools statewide and certain other settings. For counties with greater than 35 cases per 100,000 people, the indoor mask order applies to groups of ten or more unvaccinated people indoors and there remains no outdoor mask order. This order is also further amended to allow indoor spaces where more than ten people are present to go without masks, so long as at least 80% of those individuals  are fully vaccinated.

Vaccines not only protect you and your loved ones from getting this deadly virus but also allows Colorado to return back to normal. Reaching a high level of immunity is what will allow for a life without masks, but before that is possible, many more Coloradans need to get vaccinated.

Other directives from the last Executive Order, D 2021 079, remain in effect. Mask-wearing continues to be required in all counties in schools (including extracurricular activities), child care centers, indoor children’s camps, public-facing state government facilities, congregate care facilities, prisons, jails, emergency medical and other healthcare settings, and personal services and limited healthcare settings as defined by PHO 20-38.

In counties with one week disease incidence rates in excess of 35 per 100,000, masks must also be worn in all Public Indoor Spaces when ten or more unvaccinated individuals or individuals of unknown vaccination status are present, except in situations that meet the requirements of the new amendment. In counties with one week disease incidence rates less than 35 per 100,000 (Level Green), mask wearing is not required if there are ten or more people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.