State health department releases amended public health order for Safer-at-Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors. Additional activities, including events and bars, allowed with abundant precautions

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) released an amended Public Health Order 20-28 for the Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors phase. This public health order allows bars to open following updated restaurant guidance and provides updated guidance for higher education, personal services, and manufacturing. It also outlines the steps required to allow residential camps and indoor and outdoor events to resume while minimizing the potential spread of COVID-19. 

The department sought and incorporated feedback from the public and stakeholders before finalizing the guidance released June 18. The new guidance and changes are listed below.

• Guidance for residential camps. This guidance allows groups of 25 or fewer campers outdoors and 10 or fewer indoors. Designated camp groups must not mix with other groups, and camps must train staff about COVID-19 precautions and be able to isolate sick staff or campers.
• Guidance for indoor events and outdoor events. This guidance includes limiting capacity based on the square footage of the event space, implementing single-direction traffic and social distancing at entrances and exits, and booth layouts that promote social distancing. Planners can use this Social Distancing Space Calculator tool to calculate the appropriate square footage to keep staff and customers safe. This tool is based on a model built by Boulder County.
• Guidance for bars and restaurants. This guidance increases the capacity at restaurants and allows bars to open, following the same guidance. Outdoor bar service may be done in conjunction with local authorities. The guidance also states that extra-large venues can possibly have more than 50 patrons, but should use the Social Distancing Space Calculator tool to determine how many additional patrons over 50 they can accommodate indoors, up to 100 patrons total.
• Guidance for higher education.  The guidance encourages continued remote learning, but states that institutes of higher education may open up to 50% capacity per room, up to 50 people. Similarly, they can use the Social Distancing Space Calculator tool to determine how many students over 50 they can accommodate, up to 100 total.
• Guidance for personal services. This new guidance allows for services that necessitate the removal of the customer’s mask or face covering (e.g. for facials, beard trims, etc.), as long as the service provider takes extra precautions, such as requiring them to wear a face shield while conducting the service. The new guidance reinforces the need for masks or face coverings to be worn at all other times, as well as the need to ensure a minimum of 6 feet of separation between work stations, customers, and customers and providers when services are not being performed.
• Guidance for manufacturing. This guidance states that manufacturing may resume with up to 50% capacity per room, or up to 50 people, whichever is fewer. Worksites must implement procedures to ensure 6 feet of distance between employees, unless doing so impacts worker safety. Employees and visitors are required to wear masks or face coverings whenever possible, unless doing so would inhibit the employee’s health. 
  

Public health orders establish requirements that Coloradans must follow while guidance documents provide clear instructions for how businesses and individuals can comply with the public health orders. 

For extensive information on Safer-at-Home, including sector-specific guidance, please visit covid19.colorado.gov/safer-at-home. 

Continue to stay up to date by visiting covid19.colorado.gov.