Gov. Polis Disputes Study Claiming Colorado Is No. 2 For COVID-19 Restrictions
DENVER (CBS4) -- A recent study by WalletHub ranked Colorado No. 2 in the nation on its list of states with the most coronavirus restrictions. But Gov. Jared Polis disputes the scoring.
WalletHub says their researchers compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 18 key metrics. They found Colorado was second only to California when it came to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our data set ranges from whether child-care programs and restaurants have reopened to whether the state has required face masks in public and workplace temperature screenings," the report states.
WalletHub's top 10 states with the most restrictions are:
- California
- Colorado
- Hawaii
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Maine
- New York
- Maryland
- Delaware
- Washington
WalletHub found the following 10 states were the least restrictive:
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
- Utah
- Wyoming
- Oklahoma
- North Dakota
- Arkansas
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- South Carolina
Colorado's governor said the results in four significant categories are not accurate. When asked for a response to the survey, the governor's office listed a line-by-line assessment of the study's methodology, outlining the disputed scores.
The four major points included:
- The Executive Order that closed schools expired at the end of June and was not extended, meaning the closure order was lifted. It looks like you've scored Colorado as a "0", but Colorado actually had an order that was lifted when the Executive Order expired. As such, Colorado is a ".5".
- The State's restaurant guidance asks establishments to post signage notifying patrons and employees of hygiene and sanitation expectations, including not entering if they are experiencing symptoms, but it seems like a stretch to say that this is requiring a symptom monitoring protocol. Colorado should be a "1" not a "0" for this measure.
- Colorado has lifted the Stay at Home order. We still recommend that those with high risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 maintain higher social distancing, but this is not a requirement. We believe Colorado should be a ".9" not a ".7".
- As a separate branch of government, the courts largely regulate themselves. We designated the courts as a critical government function so they were never closed. Colorado should be a "1" not a "0" here.
"This further does not account for the 78 variances the state health department has granted. The majority of our counties are actually under local variances that offer far greater flexibility than what's captured in this scale. That seems important to somehow be factored in, which it currently is not," stated Conor Cahill, spokesperson for the governor's office.
Ready the full study by WalletHub and the explanation of the methodology here.
