even as cases surge there with the seven-day average positivity rate of 28%. more from cnn s ed lavandera. reporter: in the darkest days of the pandemic, daniel ramirez had to furlough 250 employees from his four mexican restaurants in denver, colorado. but now, more than 300 employees are back on the payroll and business is booming at a family-owned restaurant chain, his father started 20 years ago. had to learn how to understand, adapt to it. with f if we didn t learn how to adapt to it, i think we would have been stuck in 2020. reporter: ramirez and others credit this happening in colorado because of democratic governor jared polis, who has distanced himself from some democratic leaders across the country. governor polis is leaving mask mandate orders up to local jurisdictions, and in a statement to cnn, a spokesperson says the governor is focused on
the democratic goff nor who has distanced himself from some democratic leaders across the country. the governor is leaving mask mandate orders up to local jurisdiction and in a statement to cnn a spokesperson says the governor is focussed on fixing the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic, adding hospital capacity and covid testing. three, two, one. reporter: the governor also says promoting the covid-19 vaccine is key. and he says those who don t get vaccinated are responsible for what happens. even has had the chance to get vaccinated. at this point it is almost like they made a deliberate decision not to get vaccinated. reporter: political strategist is getting high marks for his recent high marks for his handling of the pandemic as cases and hospitalizations are adapting. he listened to the voters, listened to his advisers and found a path that works for the state. i think he had thread that
still unvaccinated who are siting ducks for the virus and that s the mess we re in. it s a critical juncture to try to do everything we can to turn this around. the cdc reported a seven day average of 129,000 daily new cases. that s up more than 700% from early july. but dr. francis collins fears the numbers could surpass 200,000, yes, that s right, 200, weeks. excuse me. a texas supreme court backs governor greg abbott by temporarily blocking mask mandate orders for schools in dallas and san antonio. school officials in dallas a announced mandates, defying abbott s executive order barring school districts and other government entities from enforcing mask wearing. superintendents say they will continue to require masks in their t s districts, despite the court ruling. incoming new york governor