Boulder's Mask Mandate To End Friday, Still Recommended

BOULDER, CO — The Boulder County Board of Health voted Monday to rescind two mask-related public health orders. Effective at 5 p.m. Friday, masks will no longer be mandated in Boulder.

The first order being rescinded — Public Health Order 2021-08 — required masks indoors during periods of high COVID-19 transmission. It first went into effect on Sept. 2.

The second order being rescinded — Public Health Order 2021-07 — required masks in childcare, camp and school settings and went into effect on Aug. 9.

"The most recent COVID-19 data for Boulder County is highly encouraging," Camille Rodriguez, Boulder County's public health executive director, said in a news release. "73 percent of the county’s residents are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccination, the surge of the omicron variant has peaked and appears to be less severe than previous variants, including in children, and new cases and positive tests are declining."

"Despite those positive trends," Rodriguez added, "not all the news is good. The number of COVID-19 deaths in Boulder County continues to increase and, although hospitalizations are decreasing, new COVID-19 cases continue to add strain to the county’s already over-taxed health care providers."

Although masks will no longer be mandated by the county starting Friday evening, county health officials still strongly recommend people continue to wear masks while in public, indoor spaces, even going so far as to strongly encourage "schools, child care facilities and youth activity providers to enact their own indoor mask policies."

"BCPH also recommends that private businesses and facilities implement their own vaccine or indoor mask requirements and policies," the news release said.

State and federal mask mandates are also still in place, meaning that masks will still be required on school buses and on public transportation, as well as for unvaccinated people in healthcare and prison settings, according to the news release.

The county health department still strongly encourages vaccinations and boosters, as well as KN95 or N95 masks and frequent handwashing as the best ways to keep the community safe.

"COVID-19 is still a potentially deadly virus and everyone should continue to take steps to protect themselves and at-risk community members,” Rodriguez said in the release. "The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to get vaccinated, continue wearing a medical-grade mask when indoors—especially if you are unvaccinated—and, if you feel unwell, get tested and don’t go to work or school, regardless of your vaccination status."