Arapahoe County Moves To Safer At Home Level 2: What To Know

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, CO — State public health officials have ordered Arapahoe County to shift to stricter protocols amid a rise in coronavirus cases, officials announced Tuesday.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the county will shift from Level 1 to Level 2 on Colorado's COVID-19 Dial.

Differences between Safer at Home Level 1 and Level 2:

*Some restrictions may vary depending upon the industry or location

• Maximum attendees at indoor worship services are reduced from 175 to 50
• Maximum attendees at gyms are reduced from 75 to 50 (from 175 to 50 for Arapahoe County gyms because of the variance the county received in June)
• Maximum attendees at restaurants decreases from 175 to 50 (or up to 100 if the space has adequate social distancing)
• Maximum participants for group sports are reduced from 50 to 25 per activity
• Maximum attendees for indoor events are reduced from 175 to 100, and from 250 to 175 for outdoor events

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Over the past 10 days, more than 1,600 new cases have been reported in Arapahoe County, the latest public health data shows.

The Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners said it's "reluctant" to impose the additional measures.

“Now that the re-opening of schools is bringing more people into contact with each other, and cooler weather is beginning to drive more people indoors than during the summer, we’re seeing a steep rise in COVID case numbers,” said Nancy Sharpe, Arapahoe County Board Chair.

“Blunting the spread of COVID now, at the onset of the annual flu season, is especially crucial to ensuring that we don’t overburden our hospital system in the county and throughout Colorado. We share everyone’s frustration at these restrictions, but our numbers are rising in ways that jeopardize our ability to keep the county open without further mitigation efforts.”

The county is set to provide a status report to state public health officials in two weeks.