DENVER (KDVR) — The City and County of Denver is extending its stay-at-home order to May 8, Mayor Michael Hancock’s office confirmed Thursday evening.
Currently, the order is set to expire on April 30.
“After careful consideration, in consultation w/ metro mayors & public health guidance, I’ve decided to extend our local order,” the mayor said via Twitter.
Hancock will discuss the decision and lay out details at a press conference Friday at 10 a.m.
The state of Colorado’s stay-at-home order will expire April 26. The state will then go under new “Safer at Home” guidelines.
Ryan Luby, a spokesperson for the Denver City Attorney’s Office, said Denver’s rules supersede the state’s.
“What is clear is that local jurisdictions have the ability to impose more restrictive guidelines, and that is what is occurring here,” said Luby.
Luby says the City is prepared to tell people what the next steps are and what reopening will eventually look like.
Denver County (coterminous with the City of Denver) is the state’s most populous. It also has the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported to the state: 2,172. As of Wednesday, 98 people in the county have died from the virus, second only to Arapahoe County, where 101 deaths have been reported.
It’s not yet clear what extending the stay-at-home order will mean for Denver businesses.
Chris Fuselier, owner of Blake Street Tavern says he’s confident their doors will stay closed for a while longer.
“It’s frustrating for my employees, customers and to us as business owners,” said Fuselier.
Under previous orders, restaurants like Blake Street Tavern were looking at opening in some capacity by the middle of May. Fuselier says one of his biggest frustrations is that Denver and the state are not on the same page.
With the state beginning to lift restrictions next week, he fears it will eventually put Denver at a disadvantage.
“I wish a lot of the decisions were mutual and joint,” said Fuselier.
In neighboring Aurora, Mayor Mike Coffman said there are discussions among Denver metro area health officials about extending the stay-at-home order for up to two more weeks.
In a press release, Boulder County officials said other metro-area counties (Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Adams) will decide about whether to extend their stay-at-home orders by Sunday.
“We are studying current trends and working with our local business community to prepare clear guidance for each sector outlined in the Governor’s Safe at Home phase. We are also reviewing the need to extend the Stay-At-Home order to May 8, 2020 for jurisdictions that are still experiencing high numbers of people sick with COVID-19, while allowing non-essential businesses to begin curbside delivery/pick-up,” officials said in a statement.