Polis updates state on COVID-19, launches stay at home guide

Gov. Jared Polis Tuesday provided an update on Colorado’s response to COVID-19 and announced a stay at home guide for Coloradans.

“Everyone is working hard, doing their part, and giving what they can so that we can defeat this virus and get back to normal life here in our great state. This is a critically important time for Coloradans to stay at home to do our part to help save lives,” said Governor Jared Polis. “I know that for so many Coloradans, our faith plays an important role in our lives. We want all Coloradans to have the chance to celebrate the upcoming religious holidays with their loved ones safely. Even though we can’t be together physically, we can be together emotionally and spiritually.”

Gov. Polis discussed important guidelines the administration has released for upcoming religious holidays Coloradans of different faiths will be celebrating, including Easter, Passover, and Ramadan. The Governor encouraged faith leaders to offer online or drive-in services in order to serve their congregations or safely accommodate worshippers by ensuring a six-foot distance between them. 

Other guidelines are:

• Staff should still be kept to the least amount of people possible;
• Each person should wear a protective face mask covering; 
• Coloradans with symptoms shouldn’t come to help or listen for risk of spreading coronavirus;
• Those in a vulnerable age group or who have a respiratory or auto-immune condition should stay home;
• Consider providing hand sanitizer and asking about signs of illness prior to admitting; 
• Sanitize all equipment and use the CDC’s and CDPHE’s cleaning guidance. 

The Governor has held numerous calls with faith leaders during this pandemic and was joined by Rev. Henderson has served as the Executive Director of The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado.

Read the guidance here. 

The Governor also announced new online resources for Coloradans in the form of https://stayathomeco.colorado.gov/ which includes free resources to support Coloradans while they are at home, from wellness, to services, to education, to entertainment and more. Coloradans can also visit covid.colorado.gov to get information from all state agencies, including the Department of Public Health and Environment’s COVID19.colorado.gov which has the most recent available data. 

The Governor also provided an update on the Help Colorado Now relief efforts. To date, Coloradans have donated nearly $10 million, with $1 million of that coming from more than 5,000 donors. Coloradans can visit www.helpcoloradonow.org to donate their time or money to the relief efforts.