DENVER — Governor Jared Polis continues to look at how the state can move forward, as the spread of COVID-19 continues to level off in Colorado.
Friday Gov. Polis issued a new executive order for all essential employees in Colorado to wear masks while on the job.
This goes beyond just those in the medical field, and includes any worker who interacts with the public on a day-to-day basis.
"They can either be a medical mask or a non-medical cloth mask like this it can even be one they make at home but they need to have a facial covering of their nose and mouth while working," Gov. Polis said.
"Hopefully you've been seeing that already at your grocery stores but you are going to be seeing that going forward because we are requiring that going forward," he added. "The more people who wear masks in these critical work places and when going about their necessary errands the more lives will be saved and it could be your life and the sooner we can get the economy going again."
There will be exceptions for workers if wearing a mask interferes with oxygen or other devices that assist with breathing.
The Governor also said he is putting a renewed focus on the safety and care of senior living facilities, which are seeing rising death tolls in Colorado and across the country.
"Also announcing today that we are deploying the national guard to conduct testing at the three largest nursing homes in the state to help prevent outbreaks and we're deploying additional resource and personnel to other facilities as needed and as the capacity increases," Polis said.
Gov. Polis said he will require a detailed isolation plan for every facility in Colorado. Those plans must be submitted to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment by May 1.
There was a lighter moment at Friday's briefing, as the Governor made it clear he understands that staying at home and being isolated is not a fun way of life.
"After this is done, I never wanna hear the term social distancing for the rest of my life," Gov. Polis said.
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