DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced Thursday that the stay-at-home order for the city and county of Denver is not expected to be extended beyond May 8.

The mayor also said he will announce an order for mandatory mask usage sometime next week.

“Next week we are going to have one of those long briefings for Denver — with Gov. Polis — where we’re going to lay out the landscape for Denver and I believe at that time I will announce a mandatory mask mandate” said Hancock Thursday morning.

He spoke about the decisions in a virtual town hall, where he was joined by Sen. Michael Bennet, City Council members and a number of state and city leaders.

The mayor said the city will slowly transition into “Safer at Home” guidelines.

“This is going to be a long journey. Not everything opens up on May 9,” he said.

Some parts of the state have been under the new guidelines since Monday. However, the stay-at-home order was extended for Denver last week.

“The governor gave us a good basis. The date in which we wanted to open was just too early for Denver because of our density and population,” Hancock said. 

Hancock says not wearing a mask will not be considered a misdemeanor offense; however, it will be a considered a civil violation, resulting in a fine of up to $999.

Hancock also said the city plans to start mobile testing.

“We’re building out that whole model right now, and you’re going to see us do some things like mobile testing around the city of Denver, so taking the tests to the people, particularly where our most vulnerable residents live,” he said.

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