20 Denver Businesses Cited For Public Health Order Violations

DENVER, CO — Denver public health investigators and deputies teamed up to issue 20 citations over the weekend for violations of public health orders, city officials announced Monday.

The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment said some violations included:

• Customers and staff not wearing face coverings;
• No social distancing;
• Not posting required signage;
• Maximum crowd capacities exceeded; and
• Serving alcohol after 10 p.m.

Five Denver businesses were ordered closed because they had either previously been warned to abide by the orders or the violations were "egregious," city officials said.

The public health agency teamed up with the Denver Sheriff Department to monitor businesses for compliance, particularly during the evenings and weekends.

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Businesses can be ticketed if their employees are not wearing masks, or if more than 10 percent of their customers are not wearing masks.

Denver continues to see more new coronavirus cases than any other metro-area county, public health officials said.

Since May, enforcement teams have issued 50 citations, mostly for face covering violations, and 12,529 warnings. A citation requires a mandatory court appearance and carries a maximum penalty of $999 per violation and up to 300 days in jail, to be determined by a judge.