Denver residents will probably have to stay at home for the most part through April 30, a spokesperson for Mayor Michael Hancock's office confirmed Tuesday.
Hancock first told locals to stay at home last Monday, making it official with an executive order meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, the potentially deadly disease caused by a new coronavirus. The order, which included the closure or partial closure of tens of thousands of businesses, was set to end April 10 at 5 p.m.
The mayor and his public health department want to expand the order through April 30, said Mike Strott, a spokesperson for Hancock. Denver is willing to extend the restrictions whether or not the state health department extends a similar order.
"We're working with the state and waiting on the data modeling they're working on," Strott said. "We support the extension being statewide, but we're prepared to extend it in Denver if the state isn't ready yet."
Denver authorities have given out at least four tickets for disobeying the stay at home order so far. The citations amount to a court appearance where a judge can fine people and businesses up to $999. Violators could also see up to one year in jail.
Despite the unprecedented restrictions on people's movements, we're still allowed to do a lot of stuff.
