DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the state has prepared draft guidance to allow for indoor visitation at nursing homes and senior living facilities, something many have said is necessary to ensure senior citizens are mentally healthy.
Polis made the announcement during a briefing Wednesday that provided an update on the state’s response to COVID-19.
"We have put a priority on how we can have safer visitation for people in nursing homes," Polis said, adding that it is important to make sure all aspects of society are able to function. "We know social interactions with our loved ones are an overdue piece of that."
Polis said the draft guidance is open for public comment through Friday and will be finalized over the weekend. He also said that while the guidance will allow those facilities that want to allow visits with loved ones the opportunity to do so, some private facilities may still opt for stricter guidelines.
"Many [private facilities] have locked down because that's what residents and caretakers want," he said.
The state health department began allowing outdoor-only visitation at facilities in June.
Energize Colorado Gap Fund
Also on Wednesday, Polis announced a new fund to provide up to $35,000 in funding to individual small businesses with 25 employees or fewer, with a specific aim of helping businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans and that are in rural areas.
Applications for the Energize Colorado Gap Fund will be accepted online beginning Monday, with distributed funds for approved businesses expected within four to six weeks.
"We know that small businesses need our support right now," said Sen. Faith Winter (D-Adams County), who sponsored a bill with bipartisan support that recently passed in the Colorado Legislature.
Winter said the application process takes 15 minutes.
"That is essential because right now our businesses...should be focused on staying open," she said.
"This is for those small Colorado businesses that just need a little bit of help to get through [the COVID-19 pandemic]," added Sen. Jeff Bridges (D-Arapahoe County), another bill sponsor.
Kent Thiry, a Colorado businessman and the former CEO of kidney care provider DaVita, said the goal of the Energize Colorado Gap Fund is to help ensure that small businesses don't go under as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Thiry worked with local leaders to develop the application process.
Fund applicants can apply for up to $15,000 in grant funding and up to $20,000 in low-interest loans.
Housing future task force
Polis also announced a new 10-person task force made up of local housing advocates, bank executives, loan experts and more who will work together to provide input on the way forward for Colorado's housing market.
Polis said the task force will look at potential instability in the market and develop actionable suggestions to ensure "we don't face another housing crisis on the tail end" of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're looking forward to getting actionable items on what more the state can do to show Colorado leads in that area," Polis said.
Polis also spoke on Friday, when he officially extended an executive order requiring bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol at a certain time, but modified it to give businesses an extra hour.
That means last call is 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. Polis said he hopes to extend that even further, to midnight, within a month, depending on COVID-19 trends.
Polis said epidemiological data, including data from contact tracing, and other scientific studies are guiding his decisions on last call and other coronavirus-related actions.
Numbers have been trending mostly downward over the last few weeks, but there's been a slight uptick in recent days. Schools have just reopened, and it's not yet known how that will impact the data.
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