DENVER — Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced October 27 that the City and County of Denver is moving from “Safer Level 2” to “Safer Level 3” as the COVID-19 situation worsens.
The move from Level 2 to Level 3 means more restrictions will be implemented this week. Level 3, also labeled as the “High Risk” level, is just one step below a stay at home order. Under Level 3, offices, restaurants, and retail can only operate at 25% capacity (down from 50% in Level 2). Schools are encouraged to limit in-person classes and move to remote or hybrid learning models.
Read more about Level 3 restrictions here.
"Despite our best efforts and the fact that most Denverites are dutifully wearing face coverings, practicing social distancing, postponing family gatherings, and otherwise making sacrifices to keep our community safe, Denver is not an island," Hancock said. "We are the capital city, the largest city of the state, visited every day, and we can not control what our near neighbors and others may be doing when they visit our city. I don’t believe this is Denver's failing. It is rather a failing by those who still refuse to believe in science, and those who do not take [COVID-19] seriously."
The mayor’s announcement arrives a little over a week after he announced that public gatherings must be limited to five people, unless they are from the same household.
The levels come from the state’s “COVID-19 dial dashboard,” a system that shows which level of “open” each county in the state is. There are five different levels on the dial (from most open to most restrictive): Protect Our Neighbors, Safer Level 1, Safer Level 2, Safer Level 3, and Stay at Home.
Hancock said the new restrictions will not affect voting locations for people who want or need to vote in person. He did say it could be a “little while” before we move back to a lower level of restrictions. To get back to Level 2, Denver needs to reduce the average number of new cases, COVID-19 test positivity rates, and hospitalizations rates, and then hold those reduced numbers for two weeks.
Denver, Logan, and Adams counties are the only counties currently under Level 3 restrictions, but more counties could join them. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment released a list of counties changing their levels on the dial:
- Arapahoe County is moving to Level 2 on Oct. 28.
- Otero County is moving to Level 2 on Oct. 30.
- Crowley County is moving Level 2 on Oct. 30
La Plata County moved to Level 2 on October 26, and Mesa County moved to Level 1.
According to data provided by Denver Public Health, the city’s seven-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases is the highest it has been since the beginning of the pandemic.