This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

DENVER (KDVR) – The official statewide stay-at-home order for Colorado issued by Gov. Jared Polis defines exempt businesses that can continue operating with social distancing practices in place.

The order took effect Thursday, March 26 at 6 a.m., and is set to last at least through Saturday, April 11.

What is a Critical Business or Operation under the order? This is the list from the official order, which was last updated Thursday afternoon:

Health care Operations, including:

● Hospitals, clinics, and walk-in health facilities
● Medical and dental care, including ambulatory providers
● Research and laboratory services
● Medical wholesale and distribution
● Home health care companies, workers and aides
● Pharmacies
● Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
● Behavioral health care providers
● Veterinary care and livestock services
● Nursing homes, residential health care, or congregate care facilities
● Medical supplies and equipment manufacturers and providers, including
durable medical equipment technicians and suppliers
● Blood banks

This does not include gyms and exercise facilities, which the governor ordered closed last week.

Critical Infrastructure, including:

● Utilities and electricity, including generation, transmission, distribution and fuel supply
● Road and railways
● Oil and gas extraction, production, refining, storage, transport and distribution
● Public water and wastewater
● Telecommunications and data centers
● Transportation and infrastructure necessary to support critical businesses
● Hotels and places of accommodation
● Businesses and organizations that provide food, shelter, social services, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged, persons with access and functional needs, or otherwise needy individuals
● Food and plant cultivation, including farming crops, livestock, food processing and manufacturing, animal feed and feed products, rendering, commodity sales, and any other work critical to the operation of any component of the food supply chain ● Any business that produces products critical or incidental to the construction or operation of the categories of products included in this subsection

Critical Manufacturing, including:

● Food processing, manufacturing agents, including all foods and beverages
● Chemicals
● Computers and computer components
● Medical equipment, components used in any medical device, supplies or instruments
● Pharmaceuticals
● Sanitary products
● Telecommunications
● Microelectronics/semiconductor
● Agriculture/farms
● Household paper products
● Any business that produces products critical or incidental to the processing, functioning, development, manufacture, packaging, or delivery of any of the categories of products included in this subsection
● Any manufacturing necessary to support a Critical Business

Critical Retail, including:

● Grocery stores including all food and beverage stores
● Farm and produce stands
● Gas stations and convenience stores
● Restaurants and bars (for takeout/delivery only)
● Marijuana dispensary (only for the sale of medical marijuana or curbside delivery)
● Liquor stores
● Firearms stores
● Hardware, farm supply, and building material stores
● Establishments engaged in the retail sale of food and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning and personal care products)
● Establishments engaged in the sale of products that support working from home

Critical Services, including:

● Trash, compost, and recycling collection, processing and disposal
● Mail and shipping services, and locations that offer P.O. boxes
● Self-serve laundromats and garment and linen cleaning services for critical businesses
● Building cleaning and maintenance
● Child care services
● Automobile rental, auto supply and repair (including retail dealerships that include repair and maintenance, but not in person retail sales)
● Warehouse/distribution and fulfillment, including freight distributors
● Funeral homes, crematoriums, and cemeteries, with strict compliance with
Social Distancing Requirements for employees and any attendees of services
● In-person pastoral services for individuals who are in crisis or in need of end of life services provided social distancing is observed to the greatest extent possible. Houses of worship may remain open, however, these institutions are encouraged to implement electronic platforms to conduct services whenever possible or to conduct smaller (10 or fewer congregants), more frequent services to allow strict compliance with Social Distancing Requirements.
● Storage for Critical Businesses
● Animal shelters, animal boarding services, animal rescues, zoological facilities, animal sanctuaries, and other related facilities

News Media

● Newspapers
● Television
● Radio
● Other media services

Financial and Professional Institutions, including:

● Banks and credit institutions
● Insurance and payroll
● Services related to financial markets
● Professional services, such as legal, title companies, or accounting services, real estate appraisals and transactions

Providers of Basic Necessities to Economically Disadvantaged Populations, including:

● Homeless shelters and congregate care facilities
● Food banks
● Human services providers whose function includes the direct care of patients in state-licensed or funded voluntary programs; the care, protection, custody and oversight of individuals both in the community and in State-licensed residential facilities; those operating community shelters and other critical human services agencies providing direct care or support

Construction, including but not limited to:

● Housing and housing for low-income and vulnerable people
● Skilled trades such as electricians, plumbers
● Other related firms and professionals for who provide services necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and critical operation of residences and other Critical Businesses or Critical Government Functions, and other essential services

Defense

● Defense, security, and intelligence-related operations supporting the State of Colorado, local government, the U.S. Government or a contractor for any of the foregoing
● Aerospace operations
● Military operations and personnel
● Defense suppliers

Critical Services Necessary to Maintain the Safety, Sanitation and critical Operations of Residences or Other Critical Businesses, including:

● Law enforcement
● Fire prevention and response
● Building code enforcement
● Security
● Emergency management and response
● Building cleaners or janitors
● General maintenance whether employed by the entity directly or a vendor
● Automotive and bicycle repair
● Disinfection
● Snow removal

Vendors that Provide Critical Services or Products, Including Logistics and Technology Support, Child Care and Services:

● Logistics
● Technology support for online and telephone services
● Child care programs and services
● Government owned or leased buildings
● Critical Government Functions

Educational Institutions that Provide Critical Services to Students and the General Public:

● K-12 public school and private schools for the purpose of providing meals, housing, facilitating or providing materials for distance learning, and providing other essential services to students, provided that Social Distancing Requirements are observed
● Post-secondary institutions, including private and public colleges and universities, for the purpose of facilitating distance learning or performing essential functions, provided that Social Distancing Requirements are observed, such as security, medical and mental health services, housing, food services, and critical research

Critical Government Functions. The provision, operation and support of the following government functions shall continue:

● Public safety (police stations, fire and rescue stations, correctional
institutions, emergency vehicle and equipment storage, and, emergency
operation centers)
● Emergency response
● Judicial branch operations, including attorneys if necessary for ongoing trials and required court appearances, unless appearances can be done remotely
● Legislative and executive branch functions
● Emergency medical (hospitals, ambulance service centers, urgent care centers having emergency treatment functions, and non-ambulatory surgical structures but excluding clinics, doctors offices, and non-urgent care medical structures that do not provide these functions)
● Designated emergency shelters
● Communications (main hubs for telephone, broadcasting equipment for cable systems, satellite dish systems, cellular systems, television, radio, and other emergency warning systems, but excluding towers, poles, lines, cables, and conduits)
● Public utility plant facilities for generation and distribution (hubs, treatment plants, substations and pumping stations for water, power and gas, but not including towers, poles, power lines, buried pipelines, transmission lines, distribution lines, and service lines)
● Transportation. Airlines, taxis, transportation network providers (such as Uber and Lyft), vehicle rental services, para-transit, and other private, public, and commercial transportation and logistics providers necessary for Necessary Activities
● Transportation infrastructure (aviation control towers, air traffic control centers, and emergency equipment aircraft hangars), critical road construction and maintenance
● Hazardous material safety
● Services to at-risk populations and Vulnerable Individuals
● Any government service required for the public health and safety, government functionality, or vital to restoring normal services

Minimum Basic Operations. The minimum necessary activities to:

  • Maintain the value of the business’s inventory, ensure security, process payroll and employee benefits, or for related functions
  • Facilitate employees of the business being able to continue to work remotely from their Residences are allowable pursuant to this Order
  • Any business supporting Minimum Basic Operations must comply at all times with Social Distancing Requirements.

Social Distancing Requirements

To reduce the risk of disease transmission, individuals shall maintain at least a six-foot distance from other individuals, wash hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds as frequently as possible or using hand sanitizer, cover coughs or sneezes (into the sleeve or elbow, not hands), regularly clean high-touch surfaces and not shake hands.

A spokesperson for the governor issued the following statement:

“This order is an executive order, which means it’s the law of Colorado. It’s illegal to break the law. Residents who suspect that someone is violating the order should first contact their local public health agency to report any concerns. Residents may also file a report with the Attorney General’s Office at covid19@coag.gov if local law enforcement or a local public health agency is unresponsive. For more information about public health orders and how they are enforced click here.”