Jefferson County Moves To Level Clear: What That Means

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO — Jefferson County will move to Level Clear on Sunday, which will allow businesses to operate at 100 percent capacity, public health officials said. The new level will remain in effect for a three-month observation period.

The county will align with the new statewide mask requirements, Jefferson County Public Health announced Saturday evening. Anyone who's fully vaccinated can go without a mask in any setting, but masks will continue to be required in congregate care facilities, prisons, jails, Colorado DMV offices, as well as emergency medical and other health care settings.

Masks are also still required in schools and child care settings (including extracurricular activities); however, people who are fully vaccinated in a classroom or cohort can remove their mask if their teacher or caregiver has provided proof of vaccination to their employer. Masks also remain required during travel per CDC requirements.

"Community members should know that businesses can still require COVID-19 mitigation steps, such as continued mask wearing and social distancing measures, even if they are not required by the county or state," the agency said in a news release. "Anyone visiting a business should follow that particular business’s requirements for entering."

Businesses will still be encouraged to provide space for social distancing and continue good cleaning and disinfecting practices, public health officials said.

If hospitalizations surge during Level Clear, the county may have to reinstate business capacity limits, public health officials said. The county must not exceed two hospital admissions per 100,000 residents in 14 days.

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As of Saturday, 54.6 percent of eligible Jeffco residents were fully vaccinated, and another 10.8 percent had received at least one dose of their two-dose vaccine, public health officials said. But more than 70 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to stop the ongoing community spread, according to some of the nation's top epidemiologists.

“Jefferson County and our neighbors across the Denver Metro Area are able to make this change now because so many residents are choosing to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Dawn Comstock, executive director of Jefferson County Public Health.

“Getting vaccinated is our community’s path to staying fully open. Widespread vaccination coverage among Jeffco residents is the key to all of us getting back to doing the things we love. That’s why I’m so thrilled that, with the FDA’s very recent Emergency Use Approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 12-15, now even more residents can be protected. Further, getting a vaccine is now easier than ever with free, walk-up vaccine clinic locations widely available across the county.”

But Jeffco residents can't let their guard down just yet, Comstock said.

“While every step forward gives me a lot of hope, we remind residents that COVID-19 is still circulating in our community — currently, especially among young people — and variants are threatening our progress,” Comstock said.

“In order to remain fully open for good, we’ll need everyone who is eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you can. Together we can keep severe illness low as we continue efforts to contain this virus and prevent ongoing widespread community transmission.”

Denver, Boulder, Broomfield, Adams and Arapahoe counties are also shifting to Level Clear.

>> More information about Level Clear can be found here.