Denver prepares to lift order

However, Hancock has said letting people to head to crowded locations could be dangerous

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock will not extend his stay-athome order past Friday, his office said Monday — instead, he will begin to slowly relax restrictions that have been in place for well more than a month.

Details about the next phase of reopening have not yet been provided, except that face masks will be required in public places beginning Wednesday. Hancock and other city officials will discuss guidelines for reopening businesses and progress on coronavirus testing at a 1 p.m. Tuesday press conference.

In addition, the Tri-County Health Department will make an announcement Tuesday about Adams and Arapahoe counties’ stay-at-home orders, a representative for that agency said.

Denver and other metro counties except Douglas have continued under the strictest level of restrictions in the past week while the rest of the state has moved through several stages of reopening. Hancock said the city needed more time to figure out how Denverites can safely leave their homes and how a new set of rules could be enforced.

What’s clear is that Colorado’s largest city will relax its rules slowly. Hancock has said repeatedly that allowing everyone to rush out of their homes and into stores or other crowded locations at once could be dangerous. The goal is to avoid another spike in coronavirus cases that might

cause the city to order everyone inside again.

In a best-case scenario, city officials have predicted that most restrictions could be relaxed over a two- to four-month period.

Different counties have had different rules at different times — for instance, most metro counties except Denver are allowing retailers to offer sales via curbside pickup — and that could continue.

Curbside pickup wouldn’t help much at Lawrence Covell, a high-end clothing store in Cherry Creek, owner Joe Covell said. He tried selling a bit online during the stayat-home phase, he said, but neither that nor curbside pickup would help business as much as in-person traffic.

“We’re a lightly trafficked store as it is, compared to a grocery store or a liquor store or what have you,” Covell said. “So no, we need to be open.”

Whatever the new rules are, Covell said he’ll abide by them. He understands the pandemic is serious and requires a response, but he questioned whether Hancock’s stay-at-home order was too broad.

“There’s got to be a better way to go about this,” he said. “We’re amputating an arm without biopsying the mole on your finger. It’s too draconian a response.”

Social gatherings of 10 or more people will likely still be prohibited in Denver’s next stage, as is the case under Gov. Jared Polis’ “saferat-home” approach. And social distancing measures will likely remain for a while.

Elsewhere in the state, retailers, hair salons and offices are beginning to reopen with limitations that include reducing the number of people in businesses at a time and following cleaning protocols. It’s unclear whether Hancock’s administration will model Denver’s next phase on the statewide approach.