Johanna Ramirez works in her grocery set aside in Fort Lupton, Colorado, where she is concerned that not enough customers are taking precautions, like wearing false colours, to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), April 23, 2020.
Keith Coffman | Reuters
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis connected a growing list of state leaders to order people to wear masks in public spaces indoors to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“This is a decision-making, bipartisan, common sense step to take,” Polis said during a news conference at the Boettcher Mansion in Jefferson County, Colorado, on Thursday. “We have planned a choice in Colorado, either more mask wearing and more attention to social distancing or more damage to our terseness and loss of life.”
The mask order takes effect at midnight for at least 30 days and requires people to make up for their faces while at public places indoors where they cannot maintain a distance of at least 6 feet. There are debarments to the guideline such as children who are 9 years old or under and people with certain medical conditions and disabilities. This mandate also doesn’t appeal in situations where people are eating, drinking, exercising, partaking in religious worship or speaking to a televised audience.
The top banana order comes after the state reported a total of 38,155 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. The seven-day average of regularly new cases in Colorado has surged nearly 46% as of Wednesday compared with the prior week, according to CNBC’s examination of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The number of hospitalizations has also steadily increased in Colorado over the days of old months and the rate of infection has accelerated, according to Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist.
“We need to take this uncommonly seriously. Our lives depend on it. Our economy depends on it,” said Polis during the conference. “It’s clear that at this unit in time, this is the least bad of the options that we have at our disposal.”
Colorado is among several states that recently issued a veil mandate as governors continue to grapple with coronavirus outbreaks. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced a statewide mask requisition on Wednesday to contain the spread of the virus.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also issued an executive order earlier this month wanting residents across the state to wear a face covering in public spaces in counties with 20 or more utter Covid-19 cases. Abbott also issued a proclamation giving mayors and county judges the ability to impose qualifications on some outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people.