Gov. Jared Polis on Sunday extended the “Safer at Home” executive order in Colorado, which dictates social distancing and limits the size of social gatherings as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

He also gave a little more leeway on “last call” orders to counties that have been granted Protect Our Neighbor or Level 1 status, based on the state’s new dial dashboard. 

There are five Colorado counties in Protect Our Neighbor status: Gilpin, Gunnison, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco. Under the executive order, those counties no longer have a “last call” limit, which means bars and restaurants can serve alcohol up to the state’s normal 2 a.m. closing time.

Under “Protect Our Neighbors” designation, counties must demonstrate sufficient hospital bed capacity and personal protective equipment supplies, stable or declining COVID-19 hospitalizations, fewer new cases, an ability to conduct contract tracing and a plan for surges in cases. 

Two dozen counties at level 1 can allow bars and restaurants to serve alcohol up to midnight, under the order. In the Denver metro area, that includes Arapahoe and Douglas counties. El Paso County is also designated a level 1 county. 

The rest are largely rural, with 11 on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. A level 1 designation also can allow gyms, fitness centers and other personal recreation facilities to operate a 50% of capacity, up to 175 people at a time for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events. 

Bars with food service and restaurants in level 2 counties are still limited to a 11 p.m. last call order; level 3 counties have a 10 p.m. cut-off, although there are currently no level 3 counties in the state.

Each level is based on the number of new cases, the percentage positivity of COVID-19 tests, and the impact on hospital capacity. Counties were assigned the levels on September 15. On September 29, counties can submit requests for a new level designation. 

The original Safer at Home order was issued on June 1 and has been renewed several times since. Each executive order has a maximum limit of 30 days unless otherwise extended by the governor.

As of Saturday, there have been 62,686 cases of COVID-19; 797,493 people have been tested and 1,905 people have died due to COVID-19. Another 97 have died with the virus but it was not a cause of death.