The Governor continues to offer more guidance about the transition from the statewide Stay-At-Home order to the Safer-At-Home order.
The most important thing to understand is that this is not going to be back to normal. It’s not even going to be a major adjustment from where we are right now. It is going to be a period of more sustainable social distancing practices.
Here are some of the key points:
Vulnerable populations and older adults must stay at home except when absolutely necessary.
No group gatherings over 10 people.
Critical business remain open with strict precautions (social distancing, masks for all employees, more frequent cleanings, etc.)
Retail businesses open for curbside delivery and phased-in public opening with strict precautions.
Restaurants and bars remain closed except for takeout/delivery. Work towards phased reopening.
Nightclubs, gyms and spas remain closed.
Elective medical and dental procedures begin, with strict precautions to ensure adequate personal protective equipment and the ability to meet critical care needs.
Personal services (salons,, dog grooming, personal training, etc) will open with strict precautions.
K-12 schools remain closed for the 2019-2020 school year.
Telecommuting continues for offices. Starting May 4, up to 50% of staff may work in person (with social distancing in place) but we encourage employers to continue to maximize telecommuting. Meaning if you can run your business with 100% telecommuting please do that!
More Specific Guidance For General Public & Industries
Here’s some specific guidance for the general public and for business owners; sector-specific information will be made available in the coming days.
General Public
Strongly advised face coverings and staying 6ft apart in public
No gatherings over 10 people
Sick people may not go to work
Avoid unnecessary travel including for recreation
Vulnerable Populations and Older Adults
Continue to follow the Stay at Home Order, which means only going out when absolutely necessary
Utilize special industry hours for vulnerable populations like early
Extreme precautions at facilities that serve seniors including assisted living.
What Does This Mean for Seeing My Friends and Family?
People should still limit interactions except with immediate household
If you do see limited family or friends outside of your household, be extra cautious to stay 6 ft apart, wear face covering, and limit contact
Stick to solo and non-contact recreation activities like running, walking, or hiking in your local community.
Do not travel outside of your local community for recreation. Avoid contact sports or equipment.
Industry Best Practices
Remember: non-essential workplaces should be operating at no more than 50% capacity and should allow employees to telework whenever possible. If during stay at home they were able to successfully telecommute 100% of their employees- keep doing that!
Here are some best practices you should be implementing to protect your workplaces, your employees, your customers, and the public at large.
Worksites
Deputize workplace coordinator(s) charged with addressing COVID-19 issues
Maintain 6 foot separation when possible, and discourage shared spaces
Sanitize all high touch areas
Post signage for employees and customers on good hygiene
Ensure proper ventilation, Open windows, fans, etc.
Avoid gatherings (meetings, waiting rooms, etc) of more than 10 people
Implement symptom monitoring protocols (including workplace temperature monitoring) where possible
Eliminate or regularly sanitize any items in common spaces (i.e., break rooms) that are shared between individuals (i.e., condiments, coffee makers, vending machines)
Large workplaces and worksites will need to set up daily symptom screenings.
These work! We had a member of our leadership in our emergency operation center get flagged for elevated temperature, he went to get tested, he tested positive, we quarantined all his contacts at the EOC for 14 days and we avoided an outbreak.
Employees
Require employees to stay home when showing any symptoms or signs of sickness, and connect employees to company or state benefits providers
Provide flexible or remote scheduling for employees who need to continue to observe Stay at Home, who may have child or elder care obligations, or who live with a person who still needs to observe Stay at Home due to underlying condition, age, or other factor
Encourage and enable remote work whenever possible
Encourage breaks to wash hands or use hand sanitizer
Phase shifts, breaks to reduce density
Provide appropriate protective gear like gloves, masks, and face coverings
Customers
Create special hours for vulnerable populations only
Encourage 6 foot distancing inside of the business for all patrons
Encourage use of protection like gloves, masks, face coverings
Provide hand sanitizer at entrance
Use contactless payment solutions, no touch trash cans, etc. whenever possible
Guidance for Local Governments
Coloradans did a good job staying at home as a state and as a result, according to our modeling, we no longer need a state-wide stay-at-home order. But each community is in a different situation with regard to COVID-19.
Many local municipalities, especially those with large populations or in areas where there are hotspots, may continue to have more restrictive rules in place. Others may have very few or even zero cases of COVID-19.
Local and County governments have three options:
Stay consistent with state order
Go farther than the state order, including but not limited to stay at home orders or additional protective measures.
Apply for a waiver from CDPHE to relax guidelines further than the state. Local governments will need to have very low case count and/or demonstrate proof of 14 consecutive days of decline of infection of COVID-19 in the jurisdiction. The application to CDPHE must include a written County COVID-19 suppression plan approved by the appropriate local public health authority, all hospitals within the jurisdiction and elected leadership within the jurisdiction.
Timeline
Here’s a timeline of implementation over the coming days:
Sunday, April 26
Last Day of Stay- at-Home Order
Safer at Home executive order
Monday, April 27
Public Health Order and guidance to be issued:
Retail - Curbside can begin
Real Estate - showings can resume
Friday, May 1
Retail and Personal Services can open if implementing best practices
Monday, May 4
Non-critical offices can reopen if best practices and lower density are being implemented.