While the state might ease coronavirus restrictions on businesses Monday, El Paso County officials will still pursue plans for a business certification program that could allow individual businesses to increase capacity even more. 

Gov. Jared Polis announced Wednesday he is asking the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to move Colorado counties that are currently in Level Red on the COVID-19 dial down to Orange on Monday. Counties are designated Level Red when they have high levels of coronavirus transmission. Under Level Red, indoor dining at restaurants is closed, among other restrictions.

Polis made his request because across the state, the number of COVID-19 cases is falling and only 73% of ICU beds are in use, he said.

The state health department on Thursday did not confirm whether it intended to move counties in Level Red to Level Orange, nor when a decision on the move would be made.

“The 13-day decline in the number of cases is a strong indication that we are moving in the right direction,” Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said in a written statement. “… In general, counties restricted in Level Red have reduced viral transmission to a point where we can provide economic relief and move them into Level Orange, recognizing the fact that economic hardships also cause poorer health outcomes.”

The state department of public health plans to work with local public health agencies on the next steps, Ryan said.

A move to Level Orange would reopen indoor dining at 25% capacity and increase capacity for other businesses, such as offices and gyms.   

The decision to increase capacity at all restaurants mirrors what El Paso County, city of Colorado Springs and other local leaders asked for in a letter sent to Polis a week ago. The officials asked for blanket relief, saying that the state’s five-star certification program would be difficult and costly to implement, in part because it requires officials to individually inspect businesses. 

“We’re grateful that today the Governor heard our voice. We thank him for that,” a statement from El Paso County said. “Businesses are no longer in a position of choosing between unfunded mandates and reopening. Now they can re-open in days and still decide if the 5-Star program is right for them.”

In an emergency meeting Thursday, the Board of El Paso County Commissioners passed a resolution to move forward with the five-star program.

“I’m not excited about the program because I think it’s more bureaucratic red tape … but for now, this is the best option we have,” Commissioner Holly Williams said.

Based on its number of cases, hospitalizations and percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19, El Paso County was not eligible to apply for the program earlier, Commissioner Stan VanderWerf said.

“We did take some heat from the community about why other counties applied and why we did not apply, and that’s because we were not eligible to apply,” he said.

El Paso County is still about two days away from reaching the required metrics to be eligible to apply for the program, El Paso County Public Director Susan Wheelan told commissioners.

Businesses that qualify for the five-star program could operate at even higher capacities than allowed under Level Orange, but it could take some time before that is allowed, Colorado Springs spokeswoman Jamie Fabos said. 

The county would have to show its number of cases, hospitalizations and percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 qualified the county for Level Orange for two weeks before higher capacities were allowed under state rules, she said. 

El Paso County has been in Level Red based on its number of cases and other metrics, although all the indicators are trending down. The county has seen 525 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over two weeks and on average 9.35% of residents are testing positive.

To qualify for Level Orange, the county would need to have 174 to 350 cases per 100,000 over two weeks, according to the state. 

Some Colorado Springs restaurant owners are hopeful and excited about the possibility of opening their dining rooms and then increasing their capacity to 50% through the five-star program, they said Thursday. 

Restaurant owners want to make sure their environments are safe for customers and staff members and if that means placing tables 10 feet apart as required by the five-star certifications, some owners will be willing to take those steps, said Dave Query, owner and founder of Big Red F Restaurant Group in Boulder, which operates the Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar in Colorado Springs. 

“I think everybody is willing to do what it takes,” he said. 

Every little bit of occupancy allowed can help keep restaurants open, he said. 

“50% occupancy — it allows you to slow the bleeding, slow the losses, keep people working,” he said. 

The closure of indoor dining coincided with a slow holiday season in downtown Colorado Springs, in part because of some cancelled festivities, like the parade of lights, said Suzette Megyeri, an owner of Bambino’s Urban Pizzeria and the Skirted Heifer downtown. 

“It was a lonely holiday,” she said. 

However, her restaurants were set up a little better to handle the closure because of their fast-casual model, she said. 

Recently she passed families downtown having Bambino’s pizza and Skirted Heifer meals on the hoods of their cars, a moment she described as “precious.”

“I just felt so blessed and thankful that we’re surviving,” she said. 

Still, she is excited that indoor dining could open up again, and expects it could help with revenue and tips, she said. 

The first few months of the year will likely be “incredibly precarious” for independent restaurants until 50% occupancy is allowed and warmer weather returns, said Susan Edmondson, president and CEO of the Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs. 

“Outside dining and curbside takeout are Band-Aids, barely holding things together until greater indoor capacity is possible,” she said.