DENVER — Governor Jared Polis signed executive orders extending the state of disaster declaration and requiring employees of public transit and critical businesses to wear face masks, his office announced on Saturday.
>The video above is Polis' full press conference from Thursday.
“Coloradans have done a great job wearing masks when leaving the house, staying physically distant from others, and washing our hands but we are only a few short steps ahead of the virus and we need to do better. The data is now starting to show a reversal of some of our gains, the 3-day moving average for cases is now going up in our state,” said Polis. “This emergency extension helps Colorado further support our response efforts and remain prepared in the face of this global pandemic. I encourage all Coloradans to stay vigilant and we will get through this together.”
The executive order extending the disaster declaration also provides additional funding for COVID-19 response activities.
The other order directs the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to issue a public health order "requiring that employees, contractors, and others providing services for Mass Transportation Operations and Critical Businesses where employees, contractors, or others who interact in close proximity" to wear medical or non-medical cloth face coverings over the mouth and nose.
The order does provide an exemption if wearing a mask would inhibit an individual's heath.
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“Workers in stores and public-facing businesses have been wearing facial masks, and more and more companies are now thankfully requiring that customers wear masks to keep one another safe," Polis said in a statement. "Costco, Pizzeria Locale, and more and more Colorado businesses now require customers to wear masks. Today we are further protecting our state and county workers from infection by adding this best practice to the way we as a state do business."
Polis extended additional orders, including one to suspend certain statutes to preserve the state's Medicaid home health workforce and protect Medicaid enrollees from COVID-19 by reducing the need for in-person visits, another to extend the expiration dates for licenses and other items and another order concerning criminal justice.
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