The New 'Level Red': What Will Change Friday In Boulder County?

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — In an effort to keep Colorado's economy afloat and avoid a full lockdown, state public health officials are adding a new level — purple — to the COVID-19 Dial.

Fifteen counties, including Boulder County, will shift to 'Level Red' Friday, but because the new purple level has been added, the new red level won't be quite as restrictive as the old one.

Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, La Plata, Logan, Mesa, Morgan, Routt, Summit and Washington will also be moving to 'Level Red - Severe Risk' Friday.

Some malls, attractions and facilities have worked with state and local public health officials to set up 'variances,' which allow the businesses some leniency from the dial restrictions — those variances will be 're-evaluated' under the new Level Red, health officials said.

Here's an explanation of what will change:

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“New cases are continuing to rise rapidly in Boulder County," said Jeff Zayach, Boulder County Public Health executive director.

"This move on the dial is an important step that needed to happen to stop this virus from continuing to overwhelm our communities.”

In a news conference Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis said the decision to shift counties to Level Red was a "horrible choice" that had to be made.

"This virus is on an exponential growth curve ... our hospital system is under significant stress," he said.

"There's only so many beds in the system — ICU and non ICU. This trend cannot continue. We now have more Coloradans hospitalized than in March and April," the governor said.