COVID-19: Colorado's Stay-at-Home Order Now Shorter Than Most in USA

On April 6, Governor Jared Polis extended the Colorado stay-at-home order to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak to April 26. That's four days shorter than the policy established for Denver earlier that day, and according to the latest data, it's briefer than the majority of similar actions taken by 41 other states plus the District of Columbia.

The approach, which Polis said was dictated by science and not his admitted frustration over the economic distress caused by the shutdown, is surprising given that this past weekend, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House's response coordinator for the novel coronavirus, identified Colorado as an emerging national hot spot (along with Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.).

At present, eight states have not made staying at home a mandate for the citizenry as a whole, and Colorado is almost surrounded by them. Neighbors resisting the move entirely thus far are Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska; Oklahoma is only restricting elderly residents and those with compromised immune systems. Other states that have held out against such orders include North Dakota, South Dakota, South Carolina and Iowa.

Seven states have avoided having to extend dates for stay-at-home orders by making theirs open-ended, with no set expiration: California, Idaho, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and West Virginia. Several others have orders scheduled to expire in the next week or so, around or just past the time that Colorado's initial April 11 order would have run out — among them Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island and Tennessee. But in each of these states, various officials have dropped hints aplenty that the orders will be extended, likely until at least the end of April.

In the meantime, ten states have orders that will continue until at least April 30, five more stretch into May, and Virginia's is presently expected to stay in place until June 10.

Here are the states with stay-at-home orders, along with the dates they were put in place and their current end dates.

Alabama
Start date: April 4
End date: April 30

Alaska
Start date: March 28
End date: April 11

Arizona
Start date: March 31
End date: April 30

California
Start date: March 19
End date: No set date

Colorado
Start date: March 26
End date: April 26

Connecticut
Start date: March 23
End date: April 22

Delaware
Start date: March 24
End date: May 15

District of Columbia
Start date: April 1
End date: April 24

Florida
Start date: April 2
End date: April 30

Georgia
Start date: April 3
End date: April 13

Hawaii
Start date: March 25
End date: April 30

Idaho
Start date: March 25
End date: No set date

Illinois
Start date: March 21
End date: April 30

Indiana
Start date: March 24
End date: April 20

Kansas
Start date: March 30
End date: April 19

Kentucky
Start date: March 26
End date: No date set

Louisiana
Start date: March 23
End date: April 30

Maine
Start date: April 2
End date: April 30

Maryland
Start date: March 30
End date: No set date

Massachusetts
Start date: March 24
End date: May 4

Michigan
Start date: March 24
End date: April 13

Minnesota
Start date: March 27
End date: April 10

Mississippi
Start date: April 3
End date: April 20

Missouri
Start date: April 6
End date: April 24

Montana
Start date: March 28
End date: April 10

Nevada
Start date: April 1
End date: April 30

New Hampshire
Start date: March 27
End date: May 4

New Jersey
Start date: March 21
End date: No set date

New Mexico
Start date: March 24
End date: No set date

New York
Start date: March 22
End date: April 17

North Carolina
Start date: March 30
End date: April 29

Ohio
Start date: March 23
End date: May 1

Oregon
Start date: March 23
End date: No set date

Pennsylvania
Start date: April 1
End date: April 30

Rhode Island
Start date: March 28
End date: April 13

Tennessee
Start date: March 31
End date: April 14

Texas
Start date: April 2
End date: April 30

Vermont
Start date: March 24
End date: April 15

Virginia
Start date: March 30
End date: June 10

Washington
Start date: March 23
End date: May 4

West Virginia
Start date: March 24
End date: No set date

Wisconsin
Start date: March 25
End date: April 24