Denver has received state approval for a program to allow qualified restaurants to open up more indoor dining, Mayor Michael Hancock said Thursday, though the city must see its coronavirus metrics improve before that program can be utilized.

The 5-Star program was launched by the state last month as a way to reward businesses who implement stronger health measures. If counties are given the go-ahead by the state, then they can begin accepting applications from businesses like restaurants; for that qualify, they can allow for more people to eat or shop inside.

Denver received their “contingent” approval, Hancock said, though no restaurants have applied yet. But in order to actually implement the program, Denver needs to lower its two-week cumulative case load. That number has been steadily chugging downward since its peak of more than 1,300 cases in mid-November. It had dropped to 438 cases last week but has climbed back up again; it’s now hovering around 500 cases.

In order to qualify, that figure has to drop to 350 or below, and it needs to keep that metric there for at least a week, said Bob McDonald, the executive director of the county’s Department of Public Health and Environment. Now that two weeks have passed since the holidays, Denver’s beginning to see the impacts of potential New Years and Christmas gatherings.

It’s unclear how significant — if at all — those events will be on Denver’s COVID numbers. The numbers climbed for a few days on end but are still well below the peak of late 2020. 

Though vaccines have started to be distributed in more numbers statewide, Colorado is still some time away from feeling the benefits of those inoculation figures in its COVID metrics, McDonald said. He emphasized that while limited and inconsistent vaccine distribution are making for somewhat slow-going, Coloradans will need to take the vaccine in large numbers for its benefits to be felt on a community-wide basis.

“There’s no way we’re getting out of this pandemic unless a high percentage of our population gets vaccinated,” he said. “There’s absolutely no way of getting back to some sense of normalcy and getting back to the lives we enjoyed before hte pandemic unless a large percentage of the population gets vaccinated.”

Hancock said that 3.5% of Denver has received a first dose. Currently, Denver – and the rest of the state – is shifting its full vaccination focus to those residents who are 70 or older. In a few weeks, that priority will broaden to include those older than 64.

Hancock said that the city will primarily be using existing infrastructure to distribute the vaccine here, and he said that smaller, community-based sites will be utilized, particularly in under-served areas. Still, some institutions – like UCHealth – are planning mass clinics in Denver, though such efforts aren’t being directed by city health officials.

McDonald said that while large vaccine sites have the benefit of being able to handle large numbers of people, they have barriers for lower-income communities: They’re harder to get to, and they’re harder to register for. 

To better address those concerns, Hancock signed on a to letter along with three dozen other American mayors asking the incoming Biden administration to give vaccines directly to cities so they can be administer inoculations to under-served communities.

Judy Shlay, who runs Denver Public Health, said that her system has vaccinated 5,000 personnel, 2,000 of which have received their second dose. Nearly 2,000 Denver first responders have been inoculated thus far, plus more than 1,000 residents over the age of 69.