COVID-19 Update April 24

Finally, there is enough data for Colorado to say “the curve has flattened out.” To the surprise of nobody reading this post, I’ve been collecting data as it posts to the CDPHE website daily so that I can chart it for myself. Here’s what that flat curve looks like with real data. The number of positive COVID-19 cases per day has remained relatively flat for about a month now. The trend is expected to continue until there’s a big increase in testing (the state has been actively trying to increase the amount of testing).

Stay-At-Home Orders

This data is part of what Governor Polis used to justify Colorado’s transition from a stay-at-home order to a safer-at-home order. However, what’s right for the state overall may not be what’s right for a local county or city. Governor Polis explicitly left room for local officials to determine what’s best for them.

Specifically, the data in Denver isn’t as positive, and so Mayor Hancock has extended Denver’s stay-at-home order until May 8th. Since that’s a Friday, it puts our earliest potential return to the office on Monday, May 11th.

Life After the Stay-At-Home Order

As a leadership team, we understand that not knowing what life at Simplifya will be like after Denver’s stay-at-home order expires creates some anxiety. However, we believe that anxiety is more than offset by the knowledge that when we do share a plan for the return to our office, it will be informed by the latest information available.

In the meantime, know that we are discussing a plan with three principles in mind:

1. Your health and safety are paramount. History tells us that secondary outbreaks are inevitable, but we can do our part to prevent the office from becoming ground zero.
2. There are elements of productivity, collaboration, and morale that simply cannot be fully replicated in a remote work environment. We want to return to the office as soon as it is safe to do so.
3. We will follow guidelines set forth by Denver and Colorado. This is trickier than it should be, but we are a compliance company and we will do our best to return to the office in a way that complies with guidelines from both the city and the state (even when they are ambiguously stated or in conflict with each other).