DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Thursday he is issuing an executive order requiring face coverings in indoor public areas to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Polis, a Democrat, had long resisted issuing a statewide mask mandate, but he has come under increasing pressure from some lawmakers and business owners as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations mount in Colorado.
Several local governments have caused confusion by opting out of mask orders issued by individual county health departments. Polis said his order, which will override those local decisions, will add “statewide clarity, moral clarity, health clarity no matter where you live, no matter how you work.”
“The virus has spread less in areas that have had mask wearing orders by a statistically significant amount, and that is an incredibly important data point for me in making this statewide,” Polis said. “We have a choice in Colorado: Either more mask wearing and more attention to social distancing, or more damage to our economy and loss of life.”
Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, pointed to an increase in cases and hospitalizations. The data suggests a recent reduction in social distancing and an influx of visitors from hot spot states like Texas, Florida and California contributed to a risk that Colorado could exceed its intensive care unit hospital capacity by September.
“We’re really on the knife’s edge,” Polis said. “Many nearby states have shown us what will happen ... if we don’t regain our footing and take social distancing and masks seriously.”
Polis’ order, which takes effect at midnight Thursday, applies to people older than 10 and allows for several exemptions, including when eating at a restaurant and exercising alone. Police officers, firefighters and EMTs also are exempt from the order because masks could hinder their ability to communicate, Polis said.
The governor has recently become more vocal about the importance of wearing a mask.
“Wear a damn mask,” he said at a news conference last week. He called people who refuse to wear masks “selfish bastards” in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Polis was joined Thursday by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, a Democrat, and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, who supported the statewide order.
“This is really, again, the least invasive approach that we can do as a preventative strategy,” Coffman said.
But some other Republicans, including House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, assailed the order, arguing in part that the state’s COVID-19 death rate is down dramatically from this spring.
“The governor seems to believe that those who make educated decisions for themselves are ‘selfish bastards,’” Neville said in a statement.
Although national health officials have called on people to wear face coverings, President Donald Trump’s administration has not issued any nationwide guidance. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia now require masks.
More than 38,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Colorado, and more than 1,700 people have died with the disease, according to state health officials.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.
Associated Press writer James Anderson contributed to this report.