To protect health and support continued in-person learning in PK - 12 schools and childcare settings, Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) issued Public Health Order 2021-07 requiring facial coverings, which will go into effect on Aug. 10, 2021.

The order, approved by Board of Health on August 9, requires mask wearing the following situations, for all individuals age two and over regardless of vaccination status:

While indoors in any preschool through grade 12 school building anywhere in Boulder County.

While indoors at any childcare center or childcare facility, regardless of licensing status.

While indoors and participating in a youth camp, youth extracurricular activity, youth gym activities, and youth sport. This requirement applies to all participants, attendees, spectators, staff, volunteers and coaches. (Individuals participating in youth sports indoors must follow Public Health’s Sports guidance.)

The order also requires schools and childcare facilities to cooperate with isolation and quarantine requirements, symptom checking, and other mitigation strategies. In addition, school buildings, childcare centers, and facilities that host activities covered under this order must post signs about the mask requirement.

Boulder County Public Health’s Order aligns with CDC’s guidance for Childcare and K-12 education which recommends universal masking for childcare and PK-12 education for all individuals while indoors, regardless of vaccination status, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation for universal masking in school and childcare settings.

BCPH’s top priority and planning efforts are focused on ensuring that children remain in-person for their learning and educational experiences with minimal disruptions due to quarantine and isolation. By implementing universal masking, schools will be able to reduce the number of routine classroom exposure quarantines.

BCPH recognizes the importance of in-person learning, and along with the public health order it has issued recommendations and outbreak mitigation strategies for schools and childcare facilities. These orders and recommendations balance the physical health risks presented by the Delta variant with the academic, mental health, and social-emotional benefits of in-person learning.

The Delta variant now constitutes 100% of sampled cases in Colorado and is known to be twice as infectious as prior variants and can cause more severe disease, and it is impacting those in younger age groups. BCPH data shows recent rises in incidence rates among those under 19 years of age.

In Boulder County, a total of 39,500 school-aged children ages 5-19 are either ineligible (23,500 people) or unvaccinated (16,000 people).

Our experiences and data in Boulder County during the 2020-21 school year, as corroborated by a number of international and national studies, have proven that, only second to vaccination, adoption of universal face covering policies are an extremely effective tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and minimize disruptive quarantines and isolations in the school setting.

To support the safety of all the community members, including children who are not eligible for vaccination, BCPH strongly recommends that all individuals two+ wear masks in all indoor settings regardless of vaccination status. For more information and a full list of frequently asked questions, visit https://boco.org/covid-school-guidance.

Anyone with questions regarding this order should contact the Boulder County Call Center at 720-776-0822 or view the COVID-19 information on BCPH’s website at BoCo.org/COVID-19.