To help curb the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Jared Polis has issued a statewide stay-at-home order that goes into effect Thursday morning at 6 a.m.
Coloradans will still be able to go outside to get groceries, take walks and care for loved ones. But Polis is ordering most of the state’s 5.7 million residents to stay at home at all other times.
The order does not apply to essential workers like doctors and first responders.
Polis says the state’s previous social distancing efforts have not being effective at slowing the virus. He also said the state needs to buy more time to build up its capacity at hospitals to handle a potential surge of new cases.
“Now our generation is being called upon to sacrifice to save the lives of our fellow Coloradans and our fellow Americans and that sacrifice is staying at home,” Polis said. “And that is a sacrifice for those living paycheck to paycheck.”
Polis made the order hours after the state reached more than 1,000 confirmed cases of the virus. It also comes the same week Denver and other major cities and counties had already started issuing their own shelter-in-place orders.
The stay-at-home order will last until April 11.
Read the full order here. Read the state's FAQ here. And read the public health order here.
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