DATE: OCTOBER 29, 2020
Dear Stakeholders,
As Halloween weekend approaches, we would like to remind our industry partners to exercise sound judgment and appropriate caution in the face of increasing COVID-19 numbers in our state. Please remain vigilant in regards to overservice and underage drinking, and put extra effort into sanitization and social distancing procedures. Your diligence and commitment to best practices will help us keep vital businesses open and serving customers during the holiday season.
We’d like to share a few updates regarding the current state of COVID-19 in Colorado.
Increase in cases & hospitalizations
The current trends in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are unsustainable and very concerning. Models estimate that about 1 in every 200 Coloradans is currently contagious with COVID-19.
If these trends continue, we will exceed May hospitalization numbers -- the peak of our first wave -- early next month. The most recent modeling predicts that we will exceed all of our existing hospital capacity by the end of the year if we maintain the status quo. Further decreases in social distancing, challenges due to holiday travel, flu season, or people moving indoors because of cold weather may put a greater demand on our hospitals. There’s time to fix this if we take appropriate steps, as outlined in the public health order, to ensure workers and patrons are safe. We are happy to provide resources to licensees to ensure you comply with all state laws, including the public health order.
Exposure notifications
This past Sunday, CDPHE launched the COVID-19 Exposure Notification System, a new opt-in feature on your phone that notifies you if you may have been exposed to someone contagious with COVID-19. Using this service could result in receiving notifications days earlier than you would typically get notified by a contact tracer.
This tool is designed especially to protect workers in environments like restaurants. It is not always possible to contact trace to notify an employee if they have been exposed. By utilizing this service, a person could be informed they were exposed before they become contagious. By staying home, they can prevent transmission to coworkers, and prevent outbreaks and closures in your establishments. The more Coloradans who participate, the better we can contain this virus and slow its spread. That’s why we’re asking you to encourage patrons and employees to enable the service on their phones. You can learn more about how the service works at addyourphone.com. The website also includes a supporter toolkit with email templates, a one-pager, and social media posts encouraging fellow Coloradans to enable the service on their smartphones.
Dial update
With the increase in trends, many counties moved to a more restrictive dial level this week, and we expect additional transitions may occur. We understand that changes in dial status can lead to some confusion and frustration, and can be hard on all of our establishments. While difficult, it is the hope that moving on the dial to a more restrictive level can stem transmission at a local or regional level, and prevent the need for another Stay at Home.
That’s why we need your help, now more than ever, in supporting communities as they transition to different levels to combat the spread of the virus. You can visit this CDPHE dashboard to see your county’s current dial level and this website to understand how capacity restrictions change across levels. As with any public health order, all licensees must abide by the guidelines established based on your county’s level.
Wildfires
The Division would also like to extend our concern for those stakeholders who are affected by the wildfires burning throughout the state. Should your business be impacted by the fires, please reach out to the Division at dor_led@state.co.us and let us know if we can assist.
We thank everyone for their continued efforts and cooperation in keeping our communities safe. Please reach out to dor_led@state.co.us with any questions you may have regarding this bulletin.
Colorado Liquor Enforcement Division