Executive Order D 2020 003: Declaring a Disaster Emergency Due to the Presence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Colorado
Summary
In Executive Order D 2020 003, dated March 11, 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis declares a state of disaster emergency due to the presence of COVID-19 in Colorado, memorializing a verbal declaration made at approximately 9:00 AM on March 10, 2020, and authorizes employing the Colorado National Guard. The order records that as of March 11, 2020 the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had identified thirty-three (33) presumptive positive cases. It encumbers four million dollars ($4,000,000) from the Disaster Emergency Fund, directs emergency rules on paid sick leave for workers in listed industries and for state workers, lets Coloradans over the age of 65 renew driver's licenses online, and suspends the medical certificate requirement for state employees absent for three or more consecutive days. The order expires thirty (30) days from March 11, 2020 unless extended.
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136 STATE CAPITOL
DENVER, CoLORADO 80203
JARED POLIS
GOVERNOR TEL 303-866-2471
FAX 303-866-2.003
D 2020 003
EXECUTIVE ORDER
Declaring a Disaster Emergency Due to the Presence of
Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Colorado
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor of the State of Colorado and, in
particular, pursuant to Article IV, Section 2 of the Colorado Constitution and the relevant
portions ofthe Colorado Disaster Emergency Act, C.R.S. § 24-33.5-701 ~ el seq. (Act), I, Jared
Polis, Governor ofthe State of Colorado, hereby issue this Executive Order declaring a state of
disaster emergency due to the presence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Colorado,
and authorizing response activities associated with the disaster emergency to enable State
agencies to coordinate response, recovery. and mitigation efforts.
Further, pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor of the State of Colorado and. in
particular, pursuant to Article IV, Section 5 of the Colorado Constitution and C.R.S. § 28-3-104,
I hereby authorize employing the Colorado National Guard to support and provide planning
resources to State and local authorities as they respond to the presence of COVID-19 in the State.
I. Background and Purpose
The Governor is responsible for meeting the dangers to the State and people presented by
disasters. C.R.S. § 24-33.5-704(1 ). The Act defines a disaster as "the occurrence or imminent
threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any
natural cause or cause of human origin, including but not limited to . . . epidemic." C.R.S. § 24-
33.5-703(3). The threat currently posed by COVID-19, a respiratory illness that can spread from
person to person, constitutes a disaster for purposes of the Act.
Like many other states and countries around the world, Colorado identified numerous
presumptive positive cases ofCOVID-19. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel
coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China in
December 2019. Transmission of the disease likely occurs in ways similar to other respiratory
illnesses. To become sick, an individual must be exposed to the virus, either through prolonged,
close (within six (6} feet) exposure to someone with COVID-19, transmission of respiratory
droplets by an infected person coughing or sneezing, or touching a surface or object that has the
virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. Symptoms include fever, coughing, and
difficulty breathing.
Executive Order D 2020 003
March 11 , 2020
Page 2 of5
In response to the growing global threat posed by COVID~19, the Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) activated its Emergency Operations Center (Center)
on February 26, 2020. CDPHE is coordinating its response to this emerging epidemic through
the Center and collaborating with local public health agencies across the State to conduct disease
surveillance and control activities. The Center is open seven (7) days per week, and State
epidemiologists are on call twenty~ four (24) hours per day. This work is further informed by
guidance and assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDPHE
received approval from the CDC and began laboratory testing for COVID~ 19 on February 28,
2020. CDPHE currently has the capacity to run over 200 tests per day. On March 5, 2020,
CDPHE's public health laboratory confirmed the first presumptive positive test result from
Colorado.
On March 3, 2020, I verbally ordered the Office of Emergency Management to
implement the State Emergency Operations Plan and to take all necessary and appropriate State
actions to assist the affected jurisdictions with their response, recovery, and mitigation efforts
(Incident CO-COEM-1070). At approximately 9:00 AM on March 10, 2020, I verbally declared
a disaster emergency due to the presence of COVID-19 in Colorado. I also verbally authorized
employing the Colorado National Guard to support and provide planning resources to State and
local authorities as they respond to the presence of COVID-19 in the State.
As of March 11, 2020, CDPHE identified thirty-three (33) presumptive positive COVID~
19 cases and one ( 1) indeterminate test result. Out of an abundance of caution, CDPHE treats an
indeterminate test as a positive case until the State receives conclusive test results from the
CDC. The State lab has run tests on hundreds of people in Colorado since testing started on
February 28, 2020. In the coming days, the State anticipates there will be additional presumptive
positive cases. Based on the course of the disease so far in the State, CDPHE has reason to
suspect we are seeing limited community spread in Colorado.
Current guidance from CDPHE and CDC indicates that older adults and people who have
serious chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease are most at
risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.
The presence of COVID-19 in Colorado presents unique challenges and strains the
resources of our emergency and medical facilities and personnel. The measures I am ordering
through this Executive Order are designed to meet these challenges by limiting the spread and
mitigating the harm caused by COVID-19, protecting our most vulnerable populations, and
maximizing our chances of avoiding widespread disruptions to our economy and to the daily
lives ofColorodans. I have consulted with public health officials and studied the responses of
other nations. The State' s approach is based on models that have proven effective, and we will
modify it if necessary to respond to new information or changed circumstances.
Executive Order D 2020 003
March 11 , 2020
Page 3 of5
II. Declarations and Directives
A. The presence of COVID-19 in Colorado constitutes a disaster emergency under
C.R.S. § 24-33.5-701, et seq. My verbal order of March 10, 2020, declaring a
disaster emergency, pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-33.5-704(4), is hereby memorialized
by this Executive Order and shall have the full force and effect of law as if it were
contained within this Executive Order.
B. Pursuant to C.R.S. § 28-3-104, my verbal orders of March 10, 2020, activating the
National Guard, and authorizing the use of National Guard assets to support and
provide planning, logistics, personnel and facilities to State and local authorities
as they respond to the presence of COVID-19 in the State are hereby
memorialized by this Executive Order and shall have the full force and effect of
law as if they were contained within this Executive Order.
C. Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-33.5-706(4), I order that four million dollars ($4,000,000)
from the Disaster Emergency Fund be encumbered for response activities related
to the COVID-19 response efforts. This amount is an estimate ofthe immediate
funding needed for COVID-19 response efforts and may be adjusted in
subsequent Executive Orders if necessary. These funds shall remain available for
this purpose until twelve (12) months from the date of this Executive Order and
any unexpended funds shall remain in the Disaster Emergency Fund.
D. Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-33.5-704.5, the Governor's Expert Emergency Epidemic
Response Committee (Committee) has convened to consider evidence presented
by CDPHE's State Epidemiologist that there is an occurrence or imminent threat
of an emergency epidemic based on the COVID-19 cases present in Colorado.
The Committee will continue to convene regularly to advise me regarding
reasonable and appropriate measures to reduce or prevent spread ofCOVID-19
and to protect public health.
E. Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-33.5-704(5), I hereby activate the disaster response and
recovery aspects of applicable State, local, and interjurisdictional disaster
emergency plans. Furthermore, I authorize the employment and use of any forces
to which such plans apply and for use or distribution of any supplies, equipment,
and materials and facilities assembled, stockpiled, or arranged to be made
available under the Act or other applicable law.
F. I direct CDPHE to issue all public health orders necessary to protect individuals
who reside or are cared for in a Colorado licensed or certified skilled nursing
facility, intermediate care facility, assisted living facility, or similar entity.
G. I direct the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (COLE) to engage in
emergency rulemaking to ensure workers in the following industries get paid sick
Executive Order D 2020 003
March 11, 2020
Page 4 of5
leave if they exhibit flu-like symptoms and have to miss work while they await
testing results for COVID-19: leisure and hospitality, food services, child care,
education at all levels (including but not limited to cafeterias and transportation
to, from, and on campuses), home health care (working with elderly, disabled, ill,
or otherwise high-risk individuals), operating a nursing home, or operating a
community living facility. I make this order not only to prevent the spread of the
virus, but also to assure both Coloradans and visitors to our State that we are
minimizing risks. For those workers who test positive and lack access to paid
leave, I have asked CDLE to identify additional supports and wage replacement
such as access to emergency unemployment assistance.
H. I direct the Department of Revenue (DOR) to temporarily allow Coloradans over
the age of 65, a vulnerable population, to renew their driver's licenses online to
avoid having to congregate at a Department of Motor Vehicles office.
I. I direct the Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA) to promulgate
emergency rules relating to leave policies to ensure that state workers who are
subject to mandatory or voluntary quarantine or isolation and who cannot work
from home have access to paid leave. I also hereby suspend those provisions of
C.R.S. § 24-50-603(7) that exclude temporary employees from the definition of
"employee" for the purposes ofleave benefits eligibility, and direct the State
Personnel Director to determine what, if any, state leave benefits may be provided
to temporary employees.
J. I hereby suspend the requirement that state employees who are absent from work
due to COVID-19-like symptoms for three or more consecutive days provide a
medical certificate form from a health care provider, set forth at C.R.S. § 24-50-
104(7)(a). I also direct the State Personnel Director to create and promulgate an
Employee Self-Certification Form that shall be used by employees in lieu of a
medical certificate form from a health care provider. The suspension of the
medical certificate requirement as set forth in this Executive Order does not
suspend any documentation requirements that pertain to serious health conditions
or injuries, as defined in the State Personnel Administrative Procedures, Rule 1-
69, that may qualify for job-protection under the Family Medical Leave Act.
Executive Order D 2020 003
March 11, 2020
Page 5 of5
III. Duration
This Executive Order shall expire thirty (30) days from March 11, 2020, unless extended
further by Executive Order, except that the funds described in Section II( C) above shall remain
available for the described purposes for twelve (12) months from the date of this Executive
Order.
GIVEN under my hand and the
Executive Seal ofthe State of
Colorado, this eleven h
day Mar h, 2020.
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