Jefferson County will continue to be under a Stay-At-Home order even after the statewide order expires on Saturday thanks to a countywide extension of the state's order announced by Jefferson County …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one.
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
If you made a voluntary contribution in 2023-2024 of $50 or more, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one at no additional charge. VIP Digital Access includes access to all websites and online content.
Jefferson County will continue to be under a Stay-At-Home order even after the statewide order expires on Saturday thanks to a countywide extension of the state's order announced by Jefferson County Public Health on Friday morning.
The extension of the order, which will be in effect through May 8, will include most of the provisions of the statewide order. However, it also includes a new allowance for non-critical businesses to begin to offer curbside delivery of products with travel to pick-up these products now considered “necessary travel.”
“Our goal has always been to reduce the severity of this crisis with as short a disruption to people's economic livelihoods as possible,” said JCPH Executive Director Dr. Mark B. Johnson in a press release about the extension of the order. “We hope this update to enable non-critical businesses to begin operating in this manner helps us start to get back on our feet.”
According to the release, county public health officials feel it is necessary to extend the order because Jefferson County, unlike many other areas of the state that have less population density, has not yet seen a decline in new daily COVID-19 cases. The county's release also states that the county “does not have sufficient testing capacity or data about community compliance and notes that “each of these benchmarks are key factors in the decision to phase toward reopening.”
Although the statewide Stay-at-Home order is set to expire on Sunday, Gov. Jared Polis has directed local public health officials to implement data-informed strategies at the local level that best meet the needs of local communities. The decision to extend the order within Jefferson County was made after collaboration with public health officials across the Denver metro area, as well as with local business owners, community members and elected and appointed officials in Jefferson County.
According to the release, the brief extension will allow more time for JCPH to develop and implement strategies for how to safely reopen and how to communicate with the public about how to protect themselves from “a rapidly changing pandemic.” It will also allow the county to “ensure our strategies are equitable and reflect the needs of the community as a whole.”
“No two communities in Colorado are the same, and each community has different needs as we look to the next stages of response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Johnson said. “We have to consider what impact opening too soon could have on those in our community and region, and take a phased, science-based approach to reopening.”
According to the Arvada Resiliency Task Force, here are some nuances of the new county order
According to the county website, as of April 23 there are 809 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 330 more cases that are probable, suspected or under investigation. The county has seen 59 deaths and 257 hospitalizations. As of April 23, there 10,878 cases of COVID-19 in Colorado.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has also extended the Stay-At-Home order for the city of Denver through May 8.
The full extended order can be viewed at jeffco.us.
We have noticed you are using an ad blocking plugin in your browser. The revenue we receive from our advertisers helps make this site possible. We request you whitelist our site.