to april 26, 2020. "if there is any way to safely end it sooner, then we will," polis added. "and likewise if coloradans aren't staying at home and the numbers of the dead and dying continue to increase, then it could go longer." on april 7, tourists and second homeowners could face 18 months in jail or a fine of up to five thousand dollars if they visit gunnison county in colorado during the pandemic. officials initiated the public health order stating non-residents and tourists must stay out to help slow the spread of the virus. in the statement, the public health director said people from lower altitudes were at greater risk for covid-19 complications than people who live in the high-altitude. members of the colorado air national guard delivering meals to people staying in a motel in denver. on april 9, the texas attorney general's office wrote a letter to the director of gunnison county's department of health and human services, saying that the colorado county's call for all non-residents to leave the county is unconstitutional. the letter said, "while the order contains other laudable measures aimed at protecting public health, its patent discrimination against non-resident homeowners – including texans who own homes in gunnison county – runs afoul of the united states constitution." senator kerry donovan, said it's better for people to stay home, where they have a support system in place. the national western complex becomes a shelter for homeless men during the covid-19 pandemic. on april 10, attorney general phil weiser supports gunnison county public health order as does governor polis' stay-at-home executive order, telling non-residents to leave. the "8 p.m. howl" was reported to have spread in popularity throughout the entire united states. started two weeks before, the nightly howl received support from polis and media coverage. on april 11, at least 50 employees at a meatpacking plant in greeley, colorado have contracted coronavirus, and two have died. governor jared polis, says that jbs usa would be closed until all workers could be tested. vice president mike pence said that supplies to do so were on their way. "and i want to encourage people in colorado that we will work to support that effort, but i also want to emphasize that all of the people that are working in the food supply, from farmers to meatpackers to distributors to truckers to grocers, continue to have our gratitude," pence said. on april 12, concerns were raised nationally regarding the potential for covid-19 spreading during april 12 easter celebrations in churches, though many churches had previously announced the transition to online services in light of this danger. on april 16, it has been confirmed that denver broncos linebacker von miller tested positive for the coronavirus. on april 17, governor jared polis said that the national guard will be testing 3 colorado nursing homes for coronavirus. social distancing at the air force academy graduation ceremony, april 18 on april 18, protests are planned against the stay-at-home order to take place on april 19, at the colorado state capitol. to mark the april 18 graduation of cadets from the air force academy in colorado springs–including the first cadets to commission into the newly created space force–the air force thunderbirds display team released their flight plan for their f-16s to fly along much of the front range, from boulder to pueblo. the flight is also intended to honor first-responders and essential workers currently helping fight the coronavirus. on april 19, before sunday's protest at the capitol, governor polis informed the public through a spokesperson of coloradan's right to protest, hoping that those protesting were doing so safely. he also expressed his desire to re-open businesses and by lifting some restrictions within a short period. health care workers counter demonstrate against protestors at capitol. on april 20, a 24-hour shelter was opened at the denver coliseum for women and the transgender homeless. on april 21, the "stay-at-home" order became a "safer-at-home" order as colorado prepared for its first phase of re-opening. on april 23, there were still not enough tests, however, more were coming. in the meantime, there were strategies being executed to help combat covid-19 despite lack of access to testing. also, a possible blood test that would show antibodies began to show promise. governor jared polis, outlined safer-at-home policies and emphasized that unnecessary travel was still not recommended. also on april 23, eagle county was the first in the state to be released from the stay-at-home order following a significant decline in cases in the county. the allowance for eagle county businesses to re-open and for citizens to travel was restricted to only those within the county and prohibited citizens from elsewhere in the state from traveling to eagle. jbs meatpacking plant in greeley, reopened april 24, after being closed for 8 days. testing will take place for any employee showing symptoms. weld county health department will oversee testing at the plant for morning and evening shifts. many employees feel unsafe and reluctant to return to work, even with a pay raise and bonus, they said it's just not worth the risk. on april 24, several counties extended their stay-at-home directives, governor jared polis' order will expire on sunday, april 26 at which time safer at home will be augmented. weld county will extend one day until april 27. adams county, arapahoe county, boulder county, denver county, and jefferson county will extend their directives until may 8. grand county will extend until may 21. 138 inmates at sterling correctional facility in sterling tested positive for covid-19. a walmart in aurora shuts down after a security contractor, an employee and her husband die, with covid-19. also, six more employees, of this store tested positive for coronavirus, and three more have symptoms and await test results. the store will clean and sanitize before reopening. ride the rockies canceled its annual event. those who have already paid for the event may receive a refund or automatically be entered in next year's event which plans on using the same route. in june the denver post sponsored event will have two virtual rides provided via zoom. on april 25, the colorado national guard and colorado state patrol staffed free drive-through testing for residents of weld county with covid-19 symptoms. testing runs from april 24 through april 28 and does not require doctor's orders. during the four days, testing begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 300 samples are taken. the greeley stampede, has been canceled, ticket holders will receive a refund or credit towards the 2021 event. on april 26, the aurora walmart, which was closed due to coronavirus deaths and cases, reopened. the store was cleaned and has new guidelines in place. may 2020 on may 1, the lone tree city government mandated the wearing of masks when inside retail buildings. the order will be in effect from may 8 through may 26. it has exemptions for children under two years old and persons with breathing difficulties. on may 15, the colorado department of health began reporting deaths counted two ways. first: "the number of deaths among people with covid-19. this represents the total number of deaths reported among people who have covid-19, but covid-19 may not have been the cause of death listed on the death certificate. this information is required by the cdc and is crucial for public health surveillance, as it provides more information about disease transmission and can help identify risk factors among all deaths across populations." and, second: "the number of deaths among people who died from covid-19: this represents the total number of people whose death was attributed to covid-19 as indicated on a death certificate. this number is determined by the cdc and is updated daily for dates through the previous saturday." june 2020 on june 17, 2020, kareem jackson was confirmed to have tested positive for covid-19. on june 23, 2020, nikola jokić of the denver nuggets tested positive for covid-19 after attending a basketball exhibition game in serbia's capital of belgrade. in conformity to international trends, boulder, colorado, where a university of colorado campus is located, saw a marked increase in covid-19 infections among 20 to 29 year olds. during the second half of june the number of new cases doubled from about 130 to about 260. governor polis ordered bars that do not serve food, which had been permitted to open on june 19, closed. on june 30, 2020, two employees at a mcdonald's location on north main street (u.s. 50) (u.s. 287) in lamar, colorado tested positive for covid-19 which resulting in a temporary shutdown for deep cleaning to take place. july 2020 as the incidence of infections grew in july, governor polis issued an executive order on july 16, effective at midnight, requiring the wearing of a facial covering in all interior spaces in colorado. "look, in colorado, there's no shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service," polis said. "very simple." within one month of polis's mask mandate colorado's covid-19 infection rate had been halved. polis moved on july 20 to send 70 colorado national guard soldiers and airmen to aid the colorado department of human services and colorado department of corrections with covid-19 testing of prisoners at the buena vista correctional facility, arrowhead correctional facility, and colorado state penitentiary. august 2020 sherri williams of brazilian-owned, colorado-based meat packer jbs usa was appointed to national advisory committee on meat and poultry inspection in august. under williams' leadership, jbs had to close plants in colorado, minnesota, nebraska, pennsylvania, and wisconsin, due to the virus, while facilities in texas and utah also had problems. at the greeley, colorado plant, more than 300 cases and at least eight deaths were reported. september 2020 cases continued to rise through september, reaching the highest levels since july. boulder county accounted for around one in every five new cases. the university of colorado-boulder confirmed 1,198 cases among students and 12 staff members, prompting the university to order only remote learning for at least two weeks. the rise in cases at the university is believed to be driven by informal student interactions and parties. the september spike among college age students was documented by the boulder county department of public health, which showed a nearly 16-fold increase in new covid-19 cases among 18-22 year olds but no significant rise among all other age groups in boulder county. november 2020 in a statement on november 28, governor jared polis and his partner marlon reis announced that they had tested positive for covid-19. polis had been self-quarantining since the 25th following word that he had been exposed to someone else that had tested positive. at the time of his positive test, the proportion of colorado residents believed to be contagious with the virus was estimated around 1 in 41. on november 17, 14 counties were moved to the "level red - severe risk" status on the covid dial system. december 2020 on december 14, the first shipment of 46,800 doses of the pfizer covid-19 vaccine arrived in colorado. governor polis opened the box containing the vaccines and kevin londrigan, a respiratory therapist in loveland, received the first dose in the state. colorado was scheduled to receive 95,600 doses of the moderna vaccine the next week. colorado national guard brigadier general scott sherman announced that vaccinations in long-term care facilities would begin sometime after christmas. a week after the arrival of the pfizer vaccine, the first shipments of the moderna vaccine were scheduled by the colorado department of public health and environment to arrive in the state. it was announced that residents in long-term care facilities would start receiving the pfizer vaccine on 28 december. on december 29, a confirmed case of a new, more contagious sars-cov-2 variant from the united kingdom was reported in colorado. this was the first such confirmed case in the united states. the patient was a male in his mid-20s who had no travel history. the next day, another man, also a member of the colorado national guard stationed at an elderly care facility in simla in elbert county, tested positive for the new strain. all residents at the elderly care facility the national guardsmen were deployed to had already had covid-19. also in december 30, an outbreak at colorado's first two in-n-out locations—which