DENVER (AP) – Colorado’s health department is moving to relax its statewide mask mandate and limits on gathering capacity, saying the state’s role in determining COVID-19 restrictions will lessen in favor of more local control as vaccination eligibility opens more widely. The proposal announced Friday would allow local authorities and “private entities” in the counties with the lowest coronavirus infection rates to determine whether or not masks would be required. It would also end most restrictions on capacity for restaurants, retailers, and outdoor events. There are currently only two counties where this applies: rural Crowley and Otero counties, both just east of Pueblo.
