State to Move Jefferson County to Level Red, “Severe Risk,” in the Dial

Updated dial from CDPHE

From Jefferson County Public Health:

Effective Friday, November 20, 2020 at 5 p.m. the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will move several Denver Metro counties, including Jefferson County, to “Level Red – Severe Risk” in the COVID-19 Dial Framework. The COVID-19 Dial Framework has also been modified to include several key updates based on the best available evidence for slowing transmission of the virus.

“This virus is worse than it’s ever been in Jefferson County and across our region. No one wants to resort to more restrictions, but frankly we are running out of options,” said Dr. Margaret Huffman, Director of Community Health Services at JCPH. “We are hopeful that by taking these steps as a region, we will begin to see some progress in the next few weeks.”

Cases of COVID-19, hospitalizations and the County’s testing positivity rate have all continued to increase sharply. In the past two weeks, there have been 4,969 total cases of the virus in Jefferson County, or 852.2 per 100,000 residents (for the two-week period going from November 2-15, 2020). Over this same time period, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have also increased across the region by more than 58 percent, which causes exacerbated staffing difficulties. Additionally, Jefferson County’s two-week average test positivity rate is 11.9 percent.

Some key changes for the county under the state’s updated Level Red requirements include:

• Personal gatherings with people outside of your household are prohibited.
• Indoor dining at restaurants is prohibited; use takeout, curbside or delivery options instead. Outdoor dining is permitted with those in your household.
• Last call is at 8 p.m.
• Gyms are limited to 10% capacity, or 10 people indoors per room, or outdoors in groups less than 10. Reservations are required.
• Indoor events are closed.
• Outdoor events are permitted at 25% capacity, not to exceed 75 people. You may only attend with members of your own household and you must maintain at least 6 feet from non-household members at all times.
• Both critical and non-critical retail are limited to 50% capacity and should increase their curbside pick-up and delivery services.
• People who are at higher risk for getting COVID-19 or experiencing severe illness must stay at home.
• At this time, JCPH’s PHO 20-009 remains in effect. We are reviewing the order for any changes needed based on this new information.

“As a community, in order to get back to normal, we have to first dig deep and do what we need to do to get the virus under control. That means Thanksgiving will need to look a bit different for families this year,” Huffman said. “In addition to only celebrating the holiday with those who live with you, we need everyone to stay at home more, wear a mask whenever you’re in public, always keep 6 ft. distance and practicing good hygiene.”

For more information about CDPHE’s Dial Framework, including guidance for the community and businesses under Level Red, visit https://covid19.colorado.gov/data/covid-19-dial.

You can also refer to CDPHE’s Dial Public Health Order (PHO 20-36) for more details on Level Red requirements.

Read more about the updated COVID-19 Dial levels and more in CDPHE’s press release, here.

Joel Newton

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.