Masks are no longer required in congregant settings in Colorado like prisons or homeless shelters, according to a newly revised state public health order, even when surrounding COVID-19 infection rates are high.

Individual facilities and local authorities can still require masking under the order, which was publicly released Friday. Face coverings are still required in medical settings in areas where COVID-19 transmission is rated as “substantial or high” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and local officials also have the ability to require masking at all times.

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According to CDC data, no county in Colorado is rated as having high transmission. Thirteen counties — including Broomfield and Boulder — are rated as having medium transmission.

The order also removes a vaccination requirement for state contractors. A requirement that all health workers in the state be vaccinated expired last month, though nursing home and some other health workers must still be vaccinated under federal rules.

Congregant settings like prisons have been among the most affected by COVID-19 outbreaks since the pandemic began. Some of Colorado’s largest outbreaks have occurred in prisons, and one of the largest federal prison outbreaks in the country unspooled in FCI Englewood. 

The shift comes as the state continues to unwind its broader COVID-19 response. Earlier this week, it released school guidance that, in line with CDC recommendations, advised a layered approach but stopped short of requiring masking or other specific measures. The state has stood down dozens of public testing sites, stopped its large-scale vaccination clinics and has shifted its approach to COVID-19 to bring it closer in line with influenza and other infectious diseases. 

Reported COVID-19 cases in Colorado have dropped for well over a month, and wastewater indicators — a more reliable check on spread — have also declined, state officials said this week. Hospitalizations are declining, too, and officials say the latest omicron wave — driven by a newly dominant variant — is subsiding.

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