Colorado’s coronavirus-caused deaths increase to 921 as hospitalizations continue to drop

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Colorado surpassed 22,000 on Monday, and 1,224 people who contracted the virus now have died, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

That death count from the state health agency includes everyone who died while suffering from COVID-19, even if COVID-19 wasn’t listed as their cause of death on their death certificates. That figure rose by nine from the total reported Sunday

But the state late last week began to also report death certificate data — people who had COVID-19 listed as a cause of death — and those numbers show 921 who now have died from the novel coronavirus. That figure is up 43 over the number reported Sunday.

It takes some time for the death certificate data to be gathered by the state health agency, so that number lags behind the state’s other data, which is updated daily.

About 460 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 – down from a peak of 888 simultaneous hospitalizations in mid-April — and 3,899 people have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. In the past 24 hours, about 42 patients have been discharged or moved to lower levels of care as their conditions improved, according to the state data.

The state is tracking 228 outbreaks in group settings, including in nursing homes, prisons and factories.

Colorado now has tested 129,159 people, with 22,202 listed as positive cases. Gov. Jared Polis on Monday announced the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity has expanded to the point where anyone exhibiting systems should be able to get a free test.

The state’s testing rate — 57.14 tests per 100,000 people on Monday — has been improving in recent weeks, but still hovers around half of the 152 tests per 100,000 people that health experts have said is necessary to safely monitor the virus.

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