On Tuesday, May 11, Larimer County reported that 60 percent of eligible residents (over the age of 16) had gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. At 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 16, the county's virus-related public health orders will expire. Here's what that means.

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As of Monday, May 17, Larimer County will still follow the State of Colorado's Amended Public Health Order. Currently, that order does include a statewide mask mandate, which requires face coverings in most public indoor spaces, with few exceptions for vaccinated people.

Note that the CDC's report that vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks inside 'does not overrule individual state mandates on mask-wearing,' Larimer County said in its news release on Thursday, May 13. However, the state order is set to expire on Saturday, May 15, and will likely be modified after that date. Colorado's state order includes the following recent amendments:

  • No masks required in public indoor spaces, if more than 80 percent of people are vaccinated
  • Restaurant employees don't need to wear masks if 85 percent of staff is vaccinated

Larimer County's expiring public health order means that local capacity restrictions will be lifted for businesses in Fort Collins, Loveland, Estes Park and more. You can read more here.

'We’re starting to see the positive impact of COVID-19 vaccination in Larimer County,' Public Health Director Tim Gonzales said in the release, noting that the county's vaccine numbers are increasing, and the number of cases and hospitalizations will continue to drop concurrently.

'COVID-19 is now a preventable disease and we are grateful to our residents for the actions they continue to take to end the pandemic,' Gonzales said, urging everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

The NoCo Virus Tracker articles are made possible by our partners, the Keep NoCo Open campaign that reminds citizens to wear a mask, wash your hands, physically distance and support local as Northern Colorado recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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