DENVER — Some counties in the Denver metro area will have a mask mandate as of Wednesday, while others won't.
Even among the counties that approved a mask order this week in an effort toward regional cooperation on slowing the transmission of COVID-19, a few details vary from county to county.
Here is a breakdown of how each county in the Denver metro area is taking action on the COVID-19 pandemic.
City and County of Denver
Denver's public health order requires all individuals 2 years old and older to wear face coverings in public indoor spaces from Wednesday, Nov. 24, through Monday, Jan. 3.
Exceptions to the mask mandate include children younger than 2 years old and those who can't medically tolerate a face covering.
Any facility or business can declare itself as a Fully Vaccinated Facility, a designation that has several criteria:
- The owner, operator or manager must verify that at least 95% of people in the facility are fully vaccinated. That includes employees, invitees, attendees, patrons and customers.
- The owner, operator or manager must notify the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) of the facility's name, address, type (office, restaurant, gym, etc.), contact information for the person responsible for verifying individuals' vaccination status and the date that the facility began collecting vaccination status.
- There doesn't appear to be an application and approval process for the program, which is the case in some other counties.
Under the order, a person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of a two-dose vaccine or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine.
Public indoor spaces are defined as any enclosed indoor area other than a person's home that is accessible to the public. That includes businesses, event venues, office buildings, and common areas of apartment buildings and condominiums.
As of Wednesday, all public indoor spaces must post signs at every public entrance on the mask requirement.
Anyone who doesn't comply with the public health order may be fined up to $5,000 per violation.
Adams County and Arapahoe County
These two counties are subject to the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) order that will be in effect from Wednesday, Nov. 24, and through Sunday, Jan. 2.
This is similar to Denver's order. It requires all individuals 2 years old and older, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear a face covering in public indoor areas. Exceptions to the mask order include children under the age of 2 and individuals who can't medically tolerate a mask.
TCHD is instituting a Vaccine Verification Program that businesses, facilities and events can opt into. The program requirements include:
- The facility must submit an application to TCHD and get the health department's approval before operating under the program.
- 95% of individuals in the facility must be vaccinated, and the facility must require proof of vaccination of individuals who enter. That includes employees, guests, customers and members.
- The facility must have program signage at all entrances.
- The facility must have a system for evaluating exemption requests.
Proof of full vaccination is defined as documentation showing one course of a single-dose COVID vaccine or two doses of a two-dose COVID vaccine. That can be a vaccination record card, a photo of a vaccination card, documentation from a health care provider or a digital record accessed through the myColorado application.
A public indoor space is defined as any enclosed indoor area that to which the public has access that isn't a person's private residence.
The order says TCHD will attempt to seek voluntary compliance through education, technical assistance and warning notices; however, the order may be enforced by any legal means.
Boulder County
Boulder County enacted a mask mandate on Friday, Sept. 3 that is in effect until the Boulder County Public Health director amends or repeats it.
The public health orders approved this week in Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties are patterned after Boulder County's order.
Under the order, all individuals 2 years old or older must wear a face covering in public indoor spaces. Exceptions include children younger than 2 and people who can't medically tolerate a mask.
Boulder County has an Approved Fully Vaccinated Facility program, where an owner or operator submits an application to Boulder County Public Health and must get approval before being in the program.
Facilities in the program must:
- Require and check proof of vaccination of all people who enter.
- Agree to inspections by Boulder County Public Health for compliance.
- Post signs at entrances that say proof of full vaccination is required for entry.
Any business in violation of the order may be subject to civil or criminal action. Failure to comply with the order could result in a fine of up to $5,000 and imprisonment in the county jail for up to 18 months.
City and County Broomfield
Broomfield on Tuesday implemented a public health order requiring masks for everyone over the age of 2 (both staff and patrons) in all City and County of Broomfield facilities, including the Broomfield Library, Community Center and Paul Derda Recreation Center.
People who are fully vaccinated can opt out of wearing a mask by showing proof of full vaccination upon request.
The order goes into effect Dec. 1 and is set to expire Dec. 31, unless it is extended.
Unlike other counties, Broomfield's mandate does not apply to businesses.
"Thank you to Broomfield’s local businesses and nonprofits who have voluntarily stepped up to strongly encourage or require masks indoors, and allow fully vaccinated individuals to opt out with proof of vaccination," the city and county said in a release. "If at any time the data indicates a need for more or less mitigation measures, Broomfield is prepared to act swiftly in response."
Broomfield also has an indoor mask requirement for children in schools and child-care facilities, which has been in effect since Aug. 16.
Douglas County
The Douglas County Health Department went in the opposite direction from most other counties in the Denver metro area with its public health order that is in effect from Saturday, Nov. 13 through Friday, Dec. 31.
Under the order, individuals 18 and older can claim exemption from any requirement to wear a mask within the county. Children younger than 18 are exempt if their parent or guardian provides a written declaration saying a mask would have a negative impact on the child's physical or mental health.
No individual is required to quarantine because of COVID-19 exposure unless the exposure is associated with a known outbreak, and any quarantine will be lifted after a minimum of seven days, or five days with a negative test result.
But the Douglas County School District requires face coverings in schools except for students who have a documented medical exemption. The school district also follows quarantine practices set in place before this public health order was issued.
Jefferson County
Jefferson County's mask mandate looks a lot like those in Denver, Boulder, Adams and Arapahoe counties, with a few small differences. The main difference is that it applies to those 3 years old and older, instead of 2 years old in most other counties.
According to the public health order, all individuals 3 years old and older must wear a face covering in indoor public spaces starting Wednesday, Nov. 24.
The order remains in effect until the county has at least 21 consecutive days of moderate or low transmission of COVID-19, as measured by the CDC Transmission Tracker.
Exemptions to the order include those under the age of 3 and those who can't medically tolerate a face covering.
A public indoor space is defined as all enclosed indoor areas that not inside a person's private residence.
The county has an Approved Fully Vaccinated Facility program in which the owner or operation has to submit a request to Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) no later than Dec. 10 and be approved for the program.
- At least 95% of all employees, staff, guests, customers and other must be fully vaccinated to enter the facility.
- The facility must require and check proof of vaccination of everyone who enters.
- The facility must agree to unannounced inspection by JCPH for compliance.
- The facility must post signs at entrances that proof of full vaccination is required to enter.
Proof of full vaccination is defined as documentation showing one course of a single-dose COVID vaccine or two doses of a two-dose COVID vaccine. That can be a vaccination record card, a photo of a vaccination card, documentation from a health care provider or a digital record accessed through the myColorado application.
Any facility in violation of the order may be subject to a civil action.
Larimer County
Larimer County's mask mandate went into effect on Thursday, Oct. 21 and will stay in effect until the county meets four metrics on cases and hospitalizations for 21 consecutive days.
Under the order, individuals 3 years old and older must wear a face covering in public indoor spaces. Exemptions include people who can't medically tolerate a mask and children 2 years old and younger.
Unlike some other counties, this order doesn't include a full-vaccination program for facilities and businesses.
A public indoor space is defined as any enclosed indoor area that is accessible to the public and isn't a person's private residence.
Businesses must post signs at entrances telling people about the mask requirement.
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