Colorado has started scaling up a program that allows local businesses struggling under the weight of Level Red coronavirus restrictions to apply for permission to operate at a lower level of the state鈥檚 COVID-19 dial.
In a Friday news conference, Gov. Jared Polis announced the Department of Public Health and Environment had approved its first application鈥擲ummit County鈥檚鈥攖o enter its so-called 鈥�5-star program.鈥� It gives local public health officials the power to award special certifications to businesses that go all-out with safety precautions, which in turn allow them to operate with looser restrictions than others.
鈥淲e know that many local businesses have felt the impact of capacity restrictions,鈥� Polis said. 鈥淭his is a way to reward businesses that have gone above and beyond.鈥�
Summit County鈥檚 green light means the local public health department can begin at businesses this weekend, Polis said. Under the plan, some restaurants could reopen for in-person dining as soon as Saturday.
More counties are expected to gain entry to the program in the coming days. Polis said he expects Larimer County could move forward with its version of a 5-star program by 鈥渘ext Wednesday.鈥�
鈥淚t is a very reasonable, safe, quick pathway to helping have some in-person dining soon,鈥� Polis said about the program.
To gain entry, counties must meet a . Each county must set up an administrative committee to oversee 5-star certifications. The committee then needs to determine how it will enforce program requirements, and lay out a way to report progress back to the local health department and CDPHE.
Counties must also have fewer than 90% of their ICU beds in use and a two-week sustained decline in COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations.
Requirements for businesses to be certified as 鈥�5-star鈥� vary between industries.
For example, restaurants must keep dining tables at least 10 feet apart, monitor employees for symptoms every day and collect customer information for contact tracing efforts. Gyms must create reservation systems if they don鈥檛 already have one.
A full list of requirements for gyms, restaurants, personal services and indoor and outdoor events is
Once a business gains access, it can function at a notch lower on Colorado鈥檚 COVID-19 dial than their county鈥檚 current status. So if a county is at Level Red, for example, a 5-star business can operate under Level Orange.
The new program is modeled after one piloted by , which has enrolled hundreds of local businesses.
The effort to expand the program beyond Mesa took off shortly after Colorado moved dozens of counties to Level Red restrictions in late November. The decision sent many local businesses into a panic.
In Larimer County, a group of business owners in Loveland against the restrictions, pledging to remain open under Level Yellow restrictions instead. Many have since backed off after receiving threats from local liquor licensing authorities.
Morgen Harrington, co-owner of Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in Loveland, was one of the owners. She said the state鈥檚 progress on Friday was a promising sign.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want people to lose hope,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wish it came faster, but at least if they can hold on for another few weeks, something鈥檚 coming.鈥�
In a statement on Thursday, the Larimer County Department of Public Health and Environment said its COVID-19 case numbers and positivity rates were declining, but still too high to qualify for the state鈥檚 program.
鈥淲e want our businesses operating at the safest capacity possible,鈥� said Tom Gonzales, Larimer鈥檚 public health director. 鈥淭he more we continue to follow the protective measures and guidance the closer we can get to achieving the required metrics to receive approval from the state.鈥�
The state鈥檚 new program is voluntary.
Weld County, which has consistently told residents to take 鈥減ersonal responsibility鈥� and determine coronavirus restrictions for themselves, hasn鈥檛 indicated any interest in participating.
In Boulder County, public health officials said they didn鈥檛 have the bandwidth to take on the administration of a local 5-star program.
鈥淏ecause public health agencies are being asked to achieve demanding and historic objectives with a high burden of contact tracing and disease control, and to distribute vaccine at a level never before required in such a short amount of time, the program will not be administered or coordinated by Boulder County Public Health,鈥� the department said in a statement on Thursday. 鈥淚f the Boulder County community chooses to move forward with the program, Boulder County Public Health will participate as a member of the administrative committee, but another entity would organize and be responsible for the program.鈥�
In his press conference Friday, Gov. Polis encouraged Coloradans to visit local businesses during the upcoming holidays regardless of whether their county chooses to participate in the new 5-star program.
鈥淒o takeout, delivery, eat outdoors,鈥� Polis said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to support our iconic local businesses.鈥�
