The City of Boulder municipal building. (Ken Lund/Flickr)
Though Colorado’s state-wide stay at home order may have lifted, municipalities are continuing to crack down on public safety as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues.
Boulder City Council issued an emergency order late Tuesday night for all employees, vendors and customers entering businesses that host public accommodation, such as grocery stores, to cover their faces in order to halt the spread of COVID-19.
This order comes after the city issued one for all employees of critical businesses to wear masks or some facial protection if they are in close proximity to other workers.
“The operation of critical businesses without requiring all present to wear face mask presents an imminent threat to life, health, safety and welfare of persons in our community,” a city press release reads.
The city is not requiring people to wear medical-grade masks but is asking all individuals to have some sort of face coverage. This can be anything from a scarf to a bandana or even a homemade mask but must be made of washable material and cover both a person’s nose and mouth.
The city will not be proving masks to the public citing “many options for individuals to repurpose cloths or to make a personalized face covering,” according to the press release. It is directing people to the Colorado Mask Project for instructions on how to create a mask from home and tips on what types of DIY masks work best.
Any employee who does not come in contact with the public will not be required to wear a facial covering according to the order. As with all other city mandates, all members of the public are deemed aware of the order upon signing.
“If there’s a business that is not compliant the first step is they will receive a letter from the city attorney office,” said city spokesperson Patrick von Keyserling.
Boulder County extended its stay at home order to May 8 although it may be amended based on the number of cases the county sees in the upcoming weeks, according to von Keyserling.
Contact CU Independent Senior News Editor Tory Lysik at tory.lysik@colorado.edu.
