Effective on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, individuals in Pitkin County are no longer required to wear masks in public indoor spaces.
Why
- With the continued transmission of Covid-19 decreasing and our hospital capacity at a comfortable level.
Where
- Masks will be optional in public indoor spaces. This includes event spaces, businesses, restaurants, gyms, government buildings, and facilities. Masks are still required on public transportation per federal regulations.
Who
- Everyone in Pitkin County
- Excluding people using public transportation
- Including teachers, students, and staff of schools in Pitkin County
When
- Goes into effect on Feb 22nd, following Presidents Day weekend.
There are still reasons to wear a mask, and if an individual still chooses to wear a mask, we encourage the public to understand that is a personal choice, be kind, and continue to consider the safety of self and others as we transition into a new stage of the pandemic. You never know a person’s story- they could be immunocompromised or going home to a family member fighting cancer.
Businesses as well as owners and operators of any public indoor space in Pitkin County can determine their own masking policy and whether they want to continue to require masks.
Pitkin County will be following the school and childcare guidance the state released last Friday, February 11. Transitioning to a routine disease control model for COVID-19 in childcare and K-12 settings. Moving to this model will allow us to respond to clusters of cases, outbreaks, and evidence of ongoing transmission in schools, and less on individual case investigation, contact tracing and quarantining of staff and students following school exposures- much in the same way we respond to other communicable diseases. It is important that we continue to keep kids in school when the mask mandate is dropped. We hope this transition will aid in the health, wellbeing, and continued support of students and school staff.
