Denver Mayor Michael Hancock appeared on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on Friday afternoon to explain why he is extending the city’s stay-at-home orders as Gov. Jared Polis begins reopening the state.

“Mr. Mayor, why is what Gov. Polis is doing not the right move for Denver?” Tapper asked in a live virtual interview.

“When we take into consideration Denver’s density, our diverse populations, the different sizes and types of industries that we have in Denver, entertainment complexes, sports complexes, we recognize that we have a lot of points to cover before we get back into this,” Hancock said.

The mayor on Friday morning formally extended Denver’s stay-at-home order  through May 8, citing that the city needed time to train more staff to conduct COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

During the Friday afternoon interview, Tapper told Hancock he had cousins in Denver and asked, “Won’t it be confusing for them and everyone else to have two different sets of instructions – one from the governor, one from the mayor – completely at odds?”

Hancock said he made clear during his earlier morning press conference that “nothing changes” about the city’s existing orders, which require that residents isolate at home except for essential activities, such as grocery shopping, and that all non-essential businesses close.

“Many businesses in Denver have been confused” between the mayor and governor’s orders, Felicia Lewis-Dare, a public health investigator for the city’s public health department, told Colorado Politics on Thursday. Nevertheless, she said, businesses in Denver need to abide by the city’s stay-at-home order.

“The White House guidelines are pretty clear about there needing to be 14 days of reduction in cases,” Tapper told Hancock. “Why do you think Gov. Polis is doing this?”

Hancock defended Polis, saying his policies are being “driven by science and data.”

The governor “has to balance the need of a state that has a very diverse economy all over the state of Colorado,” he said. “So the governor is walking the bounds of what is necessary … But he also recognizes, I believe, the diversity of the state of Colorado in terms of our economies, as well as the industries … and he’s given municipalities and localities the ability to adapt their policies according to the guidance that he’s given, and that was very helpful.”