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Revamped Colorado COVID-19 dial will loosen restrictions on businesses

The state's amended dial which dictates countywide restrictions on businesses and gatherings based on new cases and hospitalizations will go into effect at 9 a.m. Saturday. When it does, Boulder County will move from orange to yellow on the dial, according to Chana Goussetis, Boulder County Public Health spokesperson.
2021_02_02_LL_CO-covid_dial
The state's COVID dial dashboard.

DENVER (AP) — Colorado will use an updated COVID-19 dial which allows counties to move between public health restriction levels more swiftly, officials said Friday. 

"When disease transmission is low, there's ample hospital capacity, we can sustain a lot greater degree of ability to engage in closer one-on-one interactions in the final months of the pandemic," Gov. Jared Polis said.

The state's amended dial which dictates countywide restrictions on businesses and gatherings based on new cases and hospitalizations will go into effect at 9 a.m. Saturday. When it does, Boulder County will move from orange to yellow on the dial, according to Chana Goussetis, Boulder County Public Health spokesperson.

"There will likely be one additional update to the dial in the next couple months that will also directly tie into where we are with vaccinations before we abolish the dial," Polis said. 

[ Related: Boulder County supports new COVID-19 dial dashboard changes, with some concerns ]

Some of the color-based indicators will have different capacity levels. For instance, yellow, which previously meant businesses would limit capacity to 100 people, can now have up to 50% or 150 people depending on the indoor space.

As of Friday, most counties were at an orange level, which means there are between 175 to 350 cases per 100,000 and greater than two new COVID-19 hospital admissions per day. But with these new measures, several counties including will be moved to the yellow category, which means 100 to 300 cases per 100,000 and hospitalization rates will be assessed by increasing, stable or declining. 



COVID data

For information on Boulder County COVID cases, deaths, hospitalizations and trends, click here.



Boulder County has begun accepting applications for the state's 5 Star Certification Program, which allows for businesses to expand operational capacity after showing enhanced coronavirus safety protocols. 

Counties in yellow with a 5 Star program in place can operate at a less restrictive blue level, which allows for 50% capacity at offices, restaurants and gyms. 

However, businesses will be able to do so once 70% of 70-year-olds are vaccinated with at least one dose which the state expects to happen by the end of February, Polis said.

The percent positivity metrics are tighter on Dial 2.0 for yellow and orange, meaning it will be harder for counties to move from red to orange or orange to yellow without sufficient testing, said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The state health department also will develop additional metrics for counties with populations below 30,000 "due to variability in rates." 

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
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Nieberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.