To combat the spread of COVID-19, Jefferson County Public Health will require venues to submit a plan for large events that details how people will remain distanced. The order would apply to indoor events with more than 100 attendees or outdoor events exceeding 175 people.

“There is substantial evidence of the continued spread of COVID-19 throughout Jefferson County,” wrote the health agency’s executive director, Mark B. Johnson, in Public Health Order 20-007 issued Monday. “Since July 4, 2020, Jefferson County has experienced an increase in COVID-19 from 10 average cases per 7 days to 36 average cases per 7 days.”

Jefferson County has the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. However, it is the county with the third-highest death toll, at 218.

CDPHE requires jurisdictions that receive variances from public health guidance to keep their coronavirus caseloads below a certain threshold, or else they must take corrective action. Jeffco, Johnson said, is approaching that threshold.

“The June 7, 2020 [variance] approval contains a provision that requires Jefferson County to notify CDPHE and implement a mitigation plan if it observes a threshold of 580 cases in a two-week period,” he wrote in the health order. Between July 5-18, the county had 486 cases.