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Mask confusion: Varying policies take hold after many Colorado mandates end

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When the mask mandates crumbled, Marvin Williams was more than happy to remove the “masks required” sign from the front door of Abrusci’s Fire & Vine, the Italian restaurant he manages in Lakewood. He tore it down as soon as Gov. Jared Polis made the state’s intention clear Friday — only to put it back up until the official word came from Jefferson County’s health department Saturday night.

“Some of my staff were ripping their mask off like it was a Band-Aid,” Williams said. “This is a real step toward normal.”

Mask signs came down quickly at many metro Denver restaurants, stores, gyms and other businesses — but they’re still up, and very much in force, at other places, including some major grocery store chains. Recent days have revealed a hodgepodge of policies that required customers at King Soopers and Safeway stores to wear masks inside, even as they might be able to take them off inside a liquor store, Starbucks coffee shop or restaurant in the same shopping center. Uber and Lyft still require drivers and passengers to wear masks during rides. (Update: Starting May 20, King Soopers’ parent company won’t require fully vaccinated people to wear masks.)

Businesses that had followed blanket government rules, lifted by the state, Denver and several suburban counties over the weekend, now are grappling with their own decisions. They’re weighing customer and staff safety against new federal guidance that vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks in many indoor settings.

At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials recommend unvaccinated people keep their masks on to protect themselves and reduce continuing transmission of the coronavirus. In Colorado, slightly more than half of adults have been fully vaccinated, state data show.

City Floral Garden Center in East Denver opted to keep its all-masking requirement in place for at least a few more weeks. General manager Trela Phelps said a handful of customers have threatened to take their business elsewhere, an option she considers their prerogative.

“We’re just too busy,” said Phelps, citing a weather-delayed start to gardening season. “We also hire a lot of high school students who are just now eligible for the vaccines. So, with the risk of exposure to them and other people, we just think it’s the right thing to do.”

There was less hesitation among the operators of Planet Fitness’ 31 Colorado gyms, which on Monday changed to a policy of recommending that members wear masks, but not requiring it. For now, staff members will continue wearing them.

Robin Jost, who owns a franchise group of eight locations, said the decision rested not just on the discomfort of wearing a mask while sweating it out but also on staff members’ uncomfortable role in policing the prior policy.

“Our heart, it has just been aching for them because we have had very many upset members who have had to wear a mask while they’ve worked out,” said Jost, who also sits on the board of the Colorado Fitness Coalition; she called the end of the mask mandate a relief for the industry. “There was no hesitation on our part when the governor came out on Friday — we were in tears.”

Some facilities are still working out the details. The YMCA of Metro Denver said on its website Monday that it would update its mask policy later this week.

Masks have so defined life for the last year that many people are eager to ditch them — even as others, including some who have been vaccinated, don’t yet feel comfortable entering crowded spaces without them.

The lesson so far: It’s best to keep one on hand for a while longer, even if you don’t need it as often. And the mask mandate isn’t entirely gone, including in some schools. Masks also are still required for everyone on public transportation, aboard trains and planes, and inside hospitals, homeless shelters and prisons.

AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
General manager Marvin Williams at Abrusci’s Fire & Vine on May 17, 2021.

A pandemic milestone

Still, the change in official stances marks an important milestone in the pandemic — one embraced by Howard Thomas, a regular at Fire & Vine.

“It should have been this way a long time ago,” he said as he waited for a friend to join him for lunch Monday. “What a relief.”

Inside the restaurant, there was a mix of attitudes toward masks. Some customers entered without them, ready to tuck into a plate of linguine and clams or a serving of penne gorgonzola, and most of the wait staff wore only smiles on their faces. But a couple of employees still wore masks, either because they aren’t fully vaccinated or they are close to someone who is more vulnerable to the virus, Williams said.

And Thomas still keeps his mask in his breast pocket, knowing he may still need it at other businesses and public places.

Outside Applejack Wine & Spirits in Wheat Ridge, customer Jose Lara had no objection to the liquor store’s continuing mask requirement.

“Half of the people have not been vaccinated,” he said, as he lifted boxes of wine into his car. “There’s still danger.”

In revising its indoor mask guidance, the CDC cited recent evidence that the vaccines not only protect those who have received them but also prevent spread of the virus and work against the new variants. The CDC’s recommendation that the unvaccinated still wear masks includes children older than age 2.

After the CDC released its new guidance, Colorado joined at least 18 states in announcing plans to dial back mask rules either immediately or within a matter of weeks, the Associated Press reported. But in California, state officials decided to wait until mid-June to drop the indoor masking requirement for vaccinated people.

Tricky considerations for businesses

Among businesses’ considerations is a reluctance to sort out who’s been vaccinated or not, making all-or-nothing policies more likely.

Some eateries quickly dropped their requirements over the weekend, including Rhein Haus in downtown Denver. But others, including Uncle Julio’s Hacienda Colorado in Wheat Ridge, have kept firm policies in place for customers and staff.

National chains have revised their mask policies at different paces. Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, Home Depot, Target, Starbucks and CVS are in the process of removing masking requirements for fully vaccinated people in places where mandates have lapsed, as are Trader Joe’s and Sprouts grocery stores. Some of those chains still require employees to wear coverings, however.

Among the large chains with mask requirements still in place Monday were Walgreens and the parent companies of King Soopers and Safeway. (King Soopers’ parent, Kroger, later announced a policy change Wednesday that takes effect Thursday.)

“As we have throughout the pandemic, we are reviewing current safety practices, the CDC’s latest guidance, and soliciting feedback from associates to guide the next phase of our policy,” Jessica Trowbridge, a spokeswoman for King Soopers and City Market, wrote in an email.

But as other places relax their masking requirements, old habits die hard.

In Arvada, the Apex Park and Recreation District put up new signs Sunday suggesting — but not mandating — that unvaccinated people wear masks inside the Apex Center, spokeswoman Katie Groke said.

More than a dozen people walked into the center in a short time on Monday afternoon, every one of them wearing a mask. And down in the workout room, most people using the treadmills and exercise bikes still had their mouths and noses covered.


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