Governor Jared Polis issued a state wide mask mandate today, Thursday July 16, 2020. This order is effective at midnight, for at least 30 days.
Polis announced at a news conference that he has issued an executive order requiring everyone over the age of 10 to wear a mask or other facial covering while in public indoor spaces, like stores and businesses. Persons with a medical condition or disability that prevents them from wearing a mask are exempt.
Watch the news conference HERE.
Read the executive order HERE.
TOPLINE MESSAGE: Wearing a mask can help slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.
- We know that masks can prevent you from spreading COVID-19 to others, and studies show it also reduces your own risk of contracting transmission of COVID by 65%.
- The bottom line is that we want to keep our businesses open, protect our economy and our lives. And masks are an effective way to do that.
- Coloradans are smart — mask-wearing is already quite widespread among the general public. But we need to increase the percentage of people wearing masks, and we need to do it right now.
- This is not just about Coloradans. It’s also about making sure that out-of-state visitors — especially those from hot zones like Texas and Arizona and Utah that flocked to Colorado over the Fourth of July weekend — respect our laws and our lives by complying with mask ordinances.
Mask wearing is key to Colorado’s economic resiliency and recovery:
- Masks are an effective tool for keeping our economy on the right track, inspiring consumers, and protecting our lives.
- Many professions already require mask-wearing in the workplace.
- Businesses are required to post signage mandating mask-wearing, and must refuse entry or service to people not wearing masks.
- Many large national companies currently require mask-wearing in their facilities, including Airlines (Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United), Apple Store, AT&T, Best Buy, Costco and more.
Masks aren’t political:
- Wearing a mask — or not wearing a mask — is not a political statement.
- COVID-19 doesn’t care what political party you belong to. The virus doesn’t care what belief system you have. The virus is the virus and it is a threat to every single one of us.
