Larimer, Weld Counties Move To Level Yellow Saturday
COVID restrictions will be loosened in Northern Colorado at 9 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 6).
The State of Colorado updated its COVID-19 dial system, meaning Larimer and Weld Counties will be moving to the Level Yellow restrictions.
Business and indoor restaurant capacities are now 50% or 150 people — up from 100 in Level Orange. Last call is now at 11 p.m., up from 10 p.m. under orange. Office capacities and attendance of both outdoor/indoor events can increase as well under yellow.
The change is thanks to Colorado's positivity rate moving below 5%, which is recommended by the World Health Organization. Hospitalizations also dipped from a December peak for 1,847 down to 502 on Friday (Feb. 5).
The state did extend the statewide mask order into March.
9News reports the state will also introduce Dial 2.0. This mean the state will now track seven-day data disease incidence, level of testing and hospitalizations to determine levels. Previously the state was tracking 14-day data for determinations.
Counties can now move up a level if it meets all required metrics for one week.
"It's a tool that really allows Colorado to tailor our response at a county level, recognizing that conditions will vary locally," said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) at a Friday press conference.
Colorado, of course, has a strong focus now on vaccinations.
As of this week, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment said more than 495,000 have received one vaccination dose and 160,000 have received both doses.