Boulder County has extended its mask order indefinitely, as the county continues to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The county also reported five more positive cases or cases that are considered probably in new data released Monday.
The extended mask order requires face coverings for every person older than 12 years old whenever in public anywhere in Boulder County that social distancing of six feet cannot be maintained.
The order had been set to expire on Tuesday, but according to a release from Boulder County Public Health, the mask order will now remain in place indefinitely.
“We know it’s unpleasant to wear a face covering. None of us are excited to wear them. But it’s a small inconvenience that can save lives and our economy,” Jeff Zayach, Boulder County Public Health executive director, said in a statement. “Wearing face coverings in public is not a political statement; it’s an important tool in our toolbox to help slow the spread of this disease. If we can slow the spread, we’ll be able to enter the Protect Your Neighbor phase which will allow us to further reopen our economy.”
But the release also states the county does not have enough resources to police individual people violating the order. Instead, the release asks for the public’s help in normalizing wearing masks and encouraging others to do so.
“We know that some people are choosing not to wear face coverings despite being required by law,” Zayach said in a statement. “This is disappointing and leaves it up to the rest of us to be responsible for ourselves, our loved ones, those who could die from the disease, and the survival of our economy. Let’s show the state and country that the people of Boulder County care about their community.”
The health department suspects the order will be in effect until the virus stops spreading or there is a vaccine.
“It is likely that we will want to keep the order in place until we are no longer seeing widespread transmission of the virus or when we have effective treatments and/or a vaccine that is available to everyone,” said Chana Goussetis, spokeswoman for the health department. “We must continue to use (masks) until we have something better to protect ourselves and each other.”
Boulder County in recent weeks has seen several spikes in coronavirus cases, particularly among people ages 20 through 29.
On Monday, Boulder County reported five additional coronavirus cases and no new deaths.
To date, there have been 1,370 positive or probable cases reported in the county. Of those, 176 have been hospitalized — with one being reported Monday — and 562 have recovered, which is four more than Sunday. There have been 71 deaths, a number that has not increased since June 17. There are 101 disease investigations in progress.
Statewide, there are 32,511 cases and 5,442 hospitalizations. Of those, 1,682 have died and 1,508 of the deaths have been linked to the virus. Among Colorado’s roughly 5.7 million population, 320,997 people have been tested.
