DENVER – The city and county of Denver said Wednesday it will end its mask mandates for schools and child care facilities on Feb. 26, following similar moves in several surrounding counties amid a drop in COVID-19 cases. Denver ended a citywide indoor mask mandate on Friday.
City health officials said omicron variant cases and positivity rates have declined since mid-January. Denver was averaging about 2,000 new cases a day on Jan. 10; that number dropped to below 450 per day last week.
“We are supportive of any additional measures our schools put in place, as needed, to continue in-person learning,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement.
Despite Wednesday’s announcement, the Denver Public Schools district said Wednesday it is strongly recommending that students, staff members and visitors continue to wear masks in its facilities. The district, which instituted its mandate in August, has about 90,000 students.
