The City and County of Denver’s ‘Stay at Home’ Order Extended Through May 8

April 24, 2020

Today, Mayor Michael B. Hancock announced his decision to extend the City of Denver’s Stay at Home order through May 8. He opened his press conference by sharing a powerful message from his colleague at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Reggie Washington, “This virus isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, it’s going to be with us for a while.”

Key Takeaways from today’s press conference include:

  • With guidance from public health officials and the support of Denver City Council, the Stay at Home order has been extended from April 30 and will be enforced through May 8 in the City and County of Denver.
    • The added time will help to scale up testing and tracing capacity and outline specific guidance residents need to return to work and life safely.
  • Mayor Hancock addressed the differences between the State of Colorado and City of Denver orders, “Let me be clear.  Governor Polis’ guidance has been helpful for the entire State, and every elected leader is approaching this from the same place – doing what is best for the people of our communities and the whole of Colorado. We are lucky to have his leadership.”
  • There are four pillars to the Statewide approach:
    • Creating a mask-wearing culture
    • Protecting vulnerable populations
    • Testing and tracing 
    • Physical distancing
  • Governor Polis supports Denver and other local governments pursuing safety protocols that address unique challenges being faced by communities.
  • The City of Denver will be aligning with more specific guidelines for transitioning out of the Stay at Home order as they become available from the State of Colorado.
  • More testing is on the way to Colorado, and a priority for the City of Denver is making tests accessible to all in need of testing, and working with healthcare providers & regional health partners to train for contact tracing and testing.
  • Mayor Hancock called on Representatives in Congress to work toward developing more thorough testing systems.
  • The City is working on a coordinated approach with employers and employees for testing, and mapping out potential testing facilities around Denver.
  • If you have concerns about workplaces that are over-capacity, call 311.