Denver issued a public health order targeting college students and athletes in an attempt to stop a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, Mayor Michael Hancock announced Thursday.

Denver’s two-week cumulative incident rate average has more than doubled since Sept. 9, increasing from 78.4 cases to 160 cases Thursday, according to Bob McDonald, executive director of the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.

McDonald said DDPHE is confident the spike is a result of college students gathering on and off campus.

“For whatever reason, young people still have this sense of immortality and sense that they cannot be impacted by this virus,” Hancock said, “when not only can they be impacted but they stand to be a real severe threat to a lot of people who are around them.”

The new guidelines, effective immediately, include required health screenings for college students and staff, required case reporting to DDPHE within 24 hours, restricted access to dorms for students who do not live there and the development of a public health order compliance plan.

College athletes will now be required to wear face coverings during all indoor and outdoor sports when they cannot maintain a six-foot distance from other players and when traveling to and from games. Any cases of COVID-19 on athletic teams will result in immediate suspension of activities, including practice and games.

Colleges and universities must enforce compliance. Schools and students may face fines up to $999 for public health order violations.

“This is how we’re gonna get this virus back under control,” Hancock said. “If our young people do what they have to do, they can do what they want to do down the road.”

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported 16 active COVID-19 outbreaks linked to colleges and universities Wednesday. These outbreaks include one at Metro State University, one at Regis University and eight at the University of Denver.

The University of Colorado Boulder broke the state record for the largest COVID-19 outbreak Wednesday with over 1,200 positive cases.

“CU serves as a macro example of what could happen when young people are not following the protocols,” Hancock said.

The new public health order regulations do not apply to Denver Public Schools or professional athletes. Hancock said he would evaluate the public school guidelines as classrooms open in-person in October.

Hancock and McDonald also announced a new student-only lane for COVID-19 testing at the Pepsi Center for the rest of September.

The temporary COVID-19 testing site at the Pepsi Center will be closing at the end of the month because, McDonald said, the location is not getting testing to those who need it the most.

“It’s not getting to our most vulnerable populations,” McDonald said. “It’s all about being strategic with the testing resources we have.”

DDPHE will now be subverting testing resources to smaller community testing sites. Four new community testing sites are set to open near the beginning of October, with the first being Paco Sanchez Park opening on Oct. 1.

McDonald said he is confident that closing the Pepsi Center testing site will not cause Denver to fall below recommended testing levels.