BOULDER — Boulder County will lift its mask requirements effective Friday at 5 p.m., including both the masks-in-public-places requirement and the mask order affecting childcare settings, schools and youth activities.

According to a press release from Boulder County Public Health, the county, while lifting the mask orders, still recommends use of masks.

“To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission for their staff and students, BCPH strongly encourages schools, child care facilities and youth activity providers to enact their own indoor mask policies. BCPH also recommends that private businesses and facilities implement their own vaccine or indoor mask requirements and policies to keep those they serve safe.”

The county action does not change state and federal mask requirements, including use of masks on public transportation, in Head Start programs and in jails, prisons, homeless shelters and health care settings.

Camille Rodriguez, county public health executive director, said COVID-19 data for the county is encouraging.

“73% of the county’s residents are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations, the surge of the omicron variant has peaked and appears to be less severe than previous variants, including in children, and new cases and positive tests are declining. Residents over the age of 5 can easily access a free, safe and highly effective vaccine and new treatment options have been approved and are being distributed,” she said. “Despite those positive trends, not all the news is good. The number of COVID-19 deaths in Boulder County continues to increase and, although hospitalizations are decreasing, new COVID-19 cases continue to add strain to the county’s already over-taxed health care providers.”

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment projects that immunity to the omicron variant will continue to rise, the press statement said. Omicron accounts for 98.4% of cases in Colorado and CDPHE modeling estimates that 80% of Colorado’s population now has some level of immunity because it has either been vaccinated, infected with the omicron variant, or both.