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While masks will no longer be required in many public places, health officials strongly recommend that people continue to wear them to help curb the spread of coronavirus.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced Monday that people will no longer have to wear masks or show proof of vaccination starting Friday.

Colorado’s top public health investigator is cautiously optimistic that the latest coronavirus wave may be ending. Yet the state is still gripped by the virus. Cases and positivity rates are higher than in prior waves, straining businesses and schools as workers call in sick or quarantine after being exposed.

A tourism-dependent area in Colorado's mountains has reinstituted a mask mandate because of a growing number of COVID-19 cases. Starting Thursday, people will have to wear masks in public indoor spaces in Summit County, home to several ski resorts.

Live music and entertainment have roared back to life in Northern Colorado after many venues were forced to close for months due to the pandemic. Most venues have extensive COVID-19 safety precautions in place, including requirements for face masks and proof of vaccination or a negative test.

A new Larimer County mask mandate requiring masks in all public indoor spaces will go into effect Wednesday at noon. The mandate, announced last Friday, is an attempt to slow rapidly increasing case numbers of COVID-19 and the Delta variant.

Thousands of NPR readers shared what they'd say if someone asked them why they are wearing a mask. Here's a selection of their responses.

Leaf through the most recent Arizona budget, and you'll find everything from a mask mandate ban to voting restrictions. A new lawsuit says those aren't budget items; they are political horse-trading.

President Biden says, "If you break the rules, be prepared to pay." He calls the harassment aimed at airline employees over masks "wrong" and "ugly."

As the COVID-19 delta variant drives case counts to their highest levels in months, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte amplifies misinformation about the effectiveness of masks in schools.