Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Friday that all Coloradans, even those who have not contracted the coronavirus, should wear nonmedical face masks when outside their homes.

“We’re asking all Coloradans to wear nonmedical cloth face masks when they go out of the house for necessary activities like grocery shopping or walking around …” Polis said. “This is really going to be for the foreseeable future and an important part of our culture in Colorado that saves lives.”

Polis issued the mask advisory at the daily news conference he has held since Colorado became one of the nation’s hot spots for the disease.

Any mask will do, the governor said, as long as it covers the nose and mouth. The spread of the virus is mostly through droplets in the air, which fabrics can filter, he added.

“When you’re out of the home, you should use a mask at all times,” Polis said. The governor issued a statewide stay-at-home order March 25 that mandated residents not leave home except for essential activities such as buying food or getting medical treatment.

Before Friday, only those who were suspected of being positive for COVID-19 were asked to wear a face mask.

“Let’s have fun with it and make it cool,” Polis said. “Let’s make lemonade out of these lemons and let’s try to get everybody to show that we need to do our part.”

RELATED:  Find more live updates on COVID-19 in Colorado from The Gazette here

The state partnered with the Colorado Mask Project, a grassroots organization assisting residents with getting their own masks, said Sarah Tuneberg, the Colorado Coronavirus Innovation Response Team lead, at the news conference.

“You don’t need sewing skills,” Tuneberg said. “Just a pair of scissors and you can make your own. And we ask you not to leave the house to do this.”

More than 4,170 Coloradans have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Friday afternoon, Polis said. At least 105 people have died, he continued, and 860 have been hospitalized.

“There is no clinical treatment for those who are having mild and medium symptoms of COVID-19,” the governor said. “That means if you think you have it, the last thing you should do is rush out and try to get a test because we don’t want you to expose yourself to others and endanger others.”

He added that only about 10% of people who contract the virus will need medical help.

“Take this seriously,” the governor said. “We need to take this as our patriotic duty to stay home to stop the spread … they’re literally allowing all of us to return to work sooner and save lives as we build the medical capacity we need to address the surge of patients in Colorado.”

Polis also announced new measures that the state will take to fight the coronavirus pandemic, including waiving property tax penalties and extending deadlines for businesses to submit paperwork.

He addressed the federal stimulus package recently approved to give certain Americans a variable one-time payment.

“You don’t earn it by going about and spreading the virus,” Polis said. “We’re asking you to earn this money by staying home.” He reiterated the importance of complying with the statewide order issued last month.

“The better we’re staying at home … the better we can return to something close to normalcy in our state which we’re all incredibly eager to get back to,” Polis said.

RELATED:  Find more live updates on COVID-19 in Colorado from The Gazette here