From Jefferson County Public Health:
Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) has issued a public health order extending the state’s Stay-at-Home order in Jefferson County through May 8, 2020, with a key revision to support non-Critical businesses. This extension will help protect our community from COVID-19 as we continue to work aggressively to reduce the high rates of the virus in our county and across the Denver Metro Area.
“No two communities in Colorado are the same, and each community has different needs as we look to the next stages of response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have to consider what impact opening too soon could have on those in our community and region, and take a phased, science-based approach to reopening,” said Dr. Mark B. Johnson, Executive Director, Jefferson County Public Health. “By working together across the heavily-populated Denver Metro Area, where we have much higher rates of COVID-19, we can reduce some of the confusion and most importantly, protect the health of our residents.”
The key difference between the statewide Stay-at-Home order and the Jefferson County extension, though, is the allowance for non-Critical Businesses to begin to offer curbside delivery of products. Additionally, travel to pick up these goods is now included in the definition for necessary travel.
“Our goal has always been to reduce the severity of this crisis with as short a disruption to people’s economic livelihoods as possible. We hope this update to enable non-Critical Businesses to begin operating in this manner helps us start to get back on our feet,” said Johnson.
Extending the order through May 8 is necessary for Jefferson County because, unlike some areas of the state that have less population density, we have not yet seen a decline in daily COVID-19 cases, nor do we have sufficient testing capacity or data about community compliance. Each of these benchmarks are key factors in the decision to phase toward reopening.
In addition, extending the order for a brief period will allow more time for JCPH to develop and implement strategies in partnership with our business community on how to safely reopen, as well as to communicate with the public about the most effective ways to protect themselves in the face of a rapidly changing pandemic. It will also allow us to ensure our strategies are equitable and reflect the needs of our community as a whole.
Though the statewide Stay-at-Home order is set to expire on Sunday, April 26, Gov. Jared Polis directed local public health officials to implement data-informed strategies at the local level that best meet the needs of local communities. The decision to extend the order within Jefferson County was made after collaboration with public health officials across the Denver Metro Area, as well as with local business owners, community members and elected and appointed officials in Jefferson County. Today’s order from JCPH also means that the new Safer-At-Home order announced by the Governor will not be in effect in Jefferson County.
To read the full order, please click here.
For more information about COVID-19, including more information about the Stay-at-Home order, a summary of county-level case data and a variety of resources available to support our community, please visit www.jeffco.us/coronavirus.
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
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