Gov. Jared Polis Issues Statewide Mask Mandate

COLORADO — Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order Thursday that mandates Coloradans wear masks when they are in all indoor public spaces. The announcement was made amid growing pressure from many Colorado business owners and lawmakers to issue a statewide face covering mandate. The mask order, which applies to everyone over 10 years old, will go into effect at midnight.

Colorado has seen a spike of recent new coronavirus cases, according to public health officials. The state data shows that if Colorado continues on the same trend it has seen for the past two weeks, ICU capacity will be exceeded in September, Polis said.

The governor also announced a two-week pause on state-issued variances for counties and municipalities that are seeking to ease public health guidelines.

"We're really on the knife's edge," Polis said. "Our lives depend on it, and our economy depends on it."

Some cities and towns in the state — such as Castle Rock, Brighton and Bennett — have chosen to opt out of their public health departments' mask orders.

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Over the past week, more than 4,000 new cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Colorado, according to public health data.

While Colorado hospitals have not yet faced capacity issues, the state has seen a rise in the number of hospitalizations since early July, Polis said.

"I don't want to follow the path of Texas, Arizona and Southern California," Polis said. "I want Colorado to continue to be a positive outlier."

"It's not the time to panic or to feel anxious — it's the time to redouble our efforts," he said.

As of Wednesday, 38,155 people had been infected with the coronavirus in the state among 413,187 people who have been tested since the outbreak began, health officials confirmed. Around 5,950 people have been hospitalized, and the death toll has reached 1,601.

In a news conference Wednesday, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock expressed his concern over nearby cities' decisions to opt out of mask mandates — he said Denver "isn't an island" and the opt-outs put the city at risk. Denver has seen a spike in the number of coronavirus cases over the past two weeks.