Colorado records no new deaths tied directly to COVID-19 as hospitalizations continue to fall
Colorado health officials on Saturday reported no additional deaths tied directly to COVID-19, while 1,443 people who had contracted the virus have now died since March.
That’s an increase of seven deaths of people who had the virus but no additional fatalities tied directly to COVID-19 over Friday’s tallies, though there’s a lag in reporting deaths to the state health department — particularly death-certificate data.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment recently revamped the way it reports deaths related to the new coronavirus, listing the total number of fatalities in which the person had the virus as well as the number of deaths that have been directly attributed to COVID-19 on a death certificate.
Current hospitalizations continue to decrease. There have been 4,333 people hospitalized since the outbreak was confirmed in the state in early March, but only 308 people were hospitalized with symptoms of the illness as of Saturday afternoon, state data shows. That’s the lowest level of hospitalizations since March 28, when 307 people were in the hospital for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, 21 individuals since Friday either went home or were transferred to a lower level of care such as a rehabilitation facility, according to state data.
A combination of private facilities and the state-run lab tested 5,668 people on Friday, state data shows. The testing rate — 99.5 tests per 100,000 people per day — is getting close to the 152-tests-per-100,000 people pegged as the golden number for health officials to understand where the virus is spreading.
Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday said the state now has the supplies and capabilities to test 8,500 people per day.
To date, 26,098 people have tested positive for or are believed to have COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory illness causes by the virus, though health officials have said they believe the true number is closer to 167,000.
Officials have also confirmed outbreaks at 280 contained facilities across the state, including nursing homes, jails and factories. That’s three more than the previous day.
The state health department announces new totals of coronavirus deaths and confirmed cases daily based on what’s reported up from Colorado’s counties; though the deaths and positive test results may be announced on a particular day, they may have occurred any time in the past and are just now being reported to the state.
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