Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) has implemented a series of new restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in the county and keep it from moving to Safer at Home Level 3.

The new public health order is effective until at least midnight on Sunday, Nov. 29.

Similar to Adams County, Jefferson County has experienced an alarming jump of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the past two weeks. There have been 1,815 total cases of the virus in Jefferson County, or 311.3 per 100,000 residents between Oct. 14 and Oct. 28.

Over this same time period, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have also increased across the region by more than 80 percent. Additionally, Jefferson County’s two-week average positivity rate is 6.2 percent, which indicates the virus is widespread in our community and that there are likely more people with COVID-19 who haven’t been tested.

“We have continued to see cases of the virus increase across our county over the past months at very concerning rates, and have been out of compliance with the state’s two-week case count limits for Level 2 of the Dial Framework since Oct. 16,” said Director of Community Health Services at JCPH Dr. Margaret Huffman.

“We have a brief window of opportunity to get our cases under control or our county will be moved to Level 3 and face even more restrictions. I want to emphasize how critical these next couple of weeks are. We’ve seen other counties be moved on the Dial already, but that doesn’t have to be the path for Jeffco if we can all come together right now,” said Dr. Huffman.

Similar to the trend in Adams County, gatherings among people who do not live in the same household have been a common source of exposure for Jeffco residents diagnosed with COVID-19. Evidence also shows that limiting interactions and gatherings among people slows virus transmission.

Therefore, JCPH is implementing the following:  

• Limiting outdoor events to no more than 75 people and indoor events to no more than 25 people within their usable space as calculated by the Social Distancing Space Calculator. Events may no longer have more than one room, designated activity or area.
• Spectators are prohibited at all high school sporting events, regardless of whether they are sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association and regardless of whether they take place at public, private or charter schools.
• Spectators are prohibited at all adult recreational and league sports.
• All alcohol beverage sales will end at 10 p.m. for restaurants, bars, breweries that sell food and similar venues.

The city strongly encourages all residents to continue to exercise caution in public places, ensure social distancing, wear face coverings, wash or sanitize hands frequently and minimize the size and frequency of personal gatherings. We are all in this together, and together we can save lives and support the economic recovery of our region.

The city will continue to update its communication platforms as quickly as possible. However, residents and businesses should check the Jefferson County Public Health and Tri-County Health Department websites for the most up-to-date information.