More than 500,000 people in Colorado have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 27,000 have been hospitalized as of Sunday, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
READ MORE: List of Colorado businesses that are open
Click here for the latest update on the number of cases, the age, gender and location of presumptive positive, indeterminate and confirmed cases from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Below, we're updating this blog with the latest information regarding COVID-19 in Colorado.
Latest updates:
Sunday, April 25
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers for Colorado, as of 4 p.m. Sunday, with the change from Saturday in parentheses:
502,242 cases (+1,567)
27,373 hospitalized (+19)
64 counties (+0)
2,882,496 people tested (+5,677)
7,694,869 test encounters (+26,811)
6,251 deaths among cases (+2)
6,384 deaths due to COVID-19 (+0)
4,784 outbreaks (+0)
The latest hospital data showed 621 beds in use, 13 more than Saturday. Colorado's seven-day average positivity rate was 5.95%. The state's goal is to remain below 5%.
As of Sunday, 2,505,053 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine in Colorado, and 1,695,972 people have been fully vaccinated.
11:05 a.m. | 2,500 appointments available for second dose Moderna vaccine
Centura Health is offering thousands of appointments on Thursday in Commerce City for patients needing their second dose of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. Centura said Thursday’s drive-up vaccine event at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park will focus solely on administering second doses of Moderna for these patients.
Individuals who are interested in this event should have received their first dose of Moderna vaccine before April 2 to be eligible. They may register at www.centura.org/vaccine using the Commerce City Drive-Up Event link. Then follow the link and instructions to sign up for “2nd Dose Only.” Patients should bring their vaccine card from their first dose vaccination with them to their appointment on Thursday.
Saturday, April 24
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers for Colorado, as of 4 p.m. Saturday, with the change from Friday in parentheses:
500,675 cases (+1,917)
27,354 hospitalized (+66)
64 counties (+0)
2,876,819 people tested (+6,806)
7,668,058 test encounters (+33,696)
6,249 deaths among cases (+18)
6,384 deaths due to COVID-19 (+0)
4,784 outbreaks (+15)
The latest hospital data showed 608 beds in use, 19 fewer than Friday. Colorado's seven-day average positivity rate was 5.98%. The state's goal is to remain below 5%.
As of Saturday, 2,485,047 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine in Colorado, and 1,654,089 people have been fully vaccinated.
10:07 a.m. | Polis announces launch of Western Slope mobile COVID-19 vaccination route
Gov. Jared Polis announced the launch of a new mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic route on the Western Slope. The route is set to begin Saturday, and will run for at least three months. Planned stops include clinics in Dillon, Keystone, & Breckenridge in Summit County, Edwards in Eagle County, New Castle & Rifle in Garfield County, Hayden & Steamboat in Routt County, Craig in Moffat County as well as Orchard Mesa, Clifton, Grand Junction & Fruita in Mesa county, with many more stops on the horizon.
The mobile clinics will be administering free doses of the initial Pfizer vaccine with follow up shots scheduled on a return trip. These buses can administer 500 vaccines per day and each clinic can serve up to six individuals at a time. To sign up for a vaccine at a mobile clinic, please visit: www.mobilevax.us. Appointments are encouraged in advance but they are not mandatory.
Friday, April 23
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers for Colorado, as of 4 p.m. Friday, with the change from Thursday in parentheses:
498,758 cases (+1,876)
27,288 hospitalized (+89)
64 counties (+0)
2,870,013 people tested (+7,620)
7,634,362 test encounters (+40,779)
6,231 deaths among cases (+6)
6,384 deaths due to COVID-19 (+16)
4,769 outbreaks (+33)
The latest hospital data showed 627 beds in use, 14 more than Thursday. Colorado's seven-day average positivity rate was 5.93%. The state's goal is to remain below 5%.
As of Friday, 2,460,146 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine in Colorado, and 1,612,822 people have been fully vaccinated.
10 a.m. | Thousands of vaccine appointments available today and tomorrow
If you’re in Denver and looking to get the vaccine, there are thousands of appointments available today and Saturday at Ball Arena. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says there are 3,900 appointments available for Friday and 4,000 open on Saturday. Drive-ups and walk-ups are also welcome. Click here to make an appointment.
The Ranch in Loveland has 800 appointments available today and 900 are open for Saturday. Click here to sign up.
There are more than 600 appointments available for today at the Grand Junction Convention Center site. Click here to sign up.
More than 2,000 appointments are available today and Saturday at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo County. Sign up here or walk up or drive up and get vaccinated.
There are also 2,000 appointments available for today and Saturday at Broadmoor World Arena, where appointments are required. Click here to sign up.
Thursday, April 22
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers for Colorado, as of 4 p.m. Thursday, with the change from Wednesday in parentheses:
496,882 cases (+2,361)
27,199 hospitalized (+96)
64 counties (+0)
2,862,393 people tested (+8,983)
7,593,583 test encounters (+44,448)
6,225 deaths among cases (+10)
6,368 deaths due to COVID-19 (+6)
4,736 outbreaks (+15)
The latest hospital data showed 613 beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, the same as Wednesday. Colorado's seven-day average positivity was 5.96%. The state's goal is to remain below 5%.
As of Thursday, 2,437,908 people in Colorado had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1,578,223 people have been fully immunized.
7:40 a.m. | Colorado unemployment numbers
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported that an estimated 6,718 regular initial unemployment claims were filed during the week ending April 17. There were also 1,310 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) initial claims filed for the same week. Since mid-March 2020, an estimated total of 916,379 regular initial unemployment claims have been filed and a grand total of 1,183,542 claims were filed when the PUA program is included.
For the week ending on April 10, the number of continued weeks requested totaled 209,232. That includes the following totals by UI program: regular UI (63,260), PUA (61,752), and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) (84,220).
The recent implementation of the ID.me identity verification requirement explains the relative decline in continued weeks, compared to the weeks and months prior, the CDLE said. The CDLE estimates those continued claims were filed by approximately 170,728 individuals (57,492 for regular UI; 45,189 for PUA, and 68,047 for PEUC).
Click here for U.S. unemployment numbers released Thursday.
Wednesday, April 21
4 p.m. | Colorado's positivity rate continues to increase as new cases reach near 1,500 in a single day.
Colorado's positivity rate - the metric used to determine how much the novel coronavirus is spreading undetected - continues to inch closer to 6%, above what is recommended by federal, state and local health officials to curb the spread of the disease. New cases of the novel coronavirus reached near 1,500 in a single-day, the second-highest increase this week so far.
494,521 cases (+1,492)
27,103 hospitalized (+86)
64 counties (+0)
2,853,410 people tested (+5,489)
7,549,135 test encounters (+25,614)
6,215 deaths among cases (+4)
6,362 deaths due to COVID-19 (+3)
4,721 outbreaks (+58)
The latest hospital data showed 613 beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, one fewer than Tuesday. Colorado's seven-day average positivity rate was 5.86%. The state's goal is to remain below 5%.
As of Wednesday, 2,413,1173 people had received at least one dose of the vaccine and 1,537,312 people have been fully vaccinated.
3:30 p.m. | Westminster High School football team quarantined
The Westminster High School football team is under quarantine due to COVID-19 protocols. The team's game against Fort Collins this week will be cancelled, though Westminster will still be able to play in the state playoffs, according to the district.
Colorado high school football teams had the option of playing during the fall or the spring due to COVID-19.
9:54 a.m. | Many appointments at community vaccine sites today
State emergency management says there are thousands of appointments available for scheduled, walk-up, or drive-up vaccines at four of the six mass vaccination sites across the state on Wednesday and Thursday.
At The Ranch site in Larimer County, there are no appointments available for Wednesday. But there are 1,200 appointments available for Thursday. People can sign up by clicking here.
At the Ball Arena site in Denver, there are more than 4,000 appointments available for today and 2,000 for Thursday. People can sign up by clicking here or drive up to the location, though the latter will take longer, officials said.
The Grand Junction Convention Center site has 800 appointments available for Thursday. People can sign up by clicking here or driving up.
The site at the State Fairgrounds in Pueblo has more than 2,000 appointments available Wednesday and Thursday. People can walk up or sign up by clicking here.
The site at Broadmoor World Arena is closed Wednesday and Thursday, and the site at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park has no available appointments Wednesday or Thursday. But people can sign up for future appointments at both locations by clicking here.
7:59 a.m. | Hundreds of vaccine appointments available through SCL Health
SCL Health said it is beginning to see a challenge of COVID-19 vaccine supply and appointment availability outstripping demand. SCL Health currently has hundreds of vaccine appointments available at its community clinics. This week, it has started to see demand slow as more places offer the vaccine, plus vaccine hesitation.
“We’ve reached a point in time where the people who were ready for the vaccine right away have received one; now we have to reach others who may have barriers to getting vaccinated or hesitation to do so," said Ron Sparks, vice president of ancillary operations, who helps lead SCL Health’s vaccination efforts.
Appointments are available by registering at sclhealth.org/covidvaccine.
4:30 a.m. | Delta police COVID outbreak
The City of Delta said Tuesday that it anticipates that the Delta Police Department will be listed as an outbreak of COVID. The City of Delta said it is "working to minimize continued spread and have taken several measures including closing of the administrative office of the Delta Police Department to the public as well as implementing working remotely when possible, working from patrol vehicles, adjusting shifts, wearing masks whenever in direct contact with anyone and have also increased sanitizing of shared vehicles and offices."
The department has begun testing staff at the start of each shift .
The Delta Police Department is still continuation to provide all of its normal services. It's not clear exactly how many people in the department contracted COVID-19.
Tuesday, April 20
5:42 p.m. | DU to require vaccinations for all students for fall term
The University of Denver (DU) will require all undergraduate and graduate students living, learning or working on campus to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 for the fall 2021 term.
The university will require proof of vaccination or exemption before the start of fall term. DU will consider requests for applicable exemptions for medical, religious and personal reasons.
DU is still considering whether it will require faculty and staff to be vaccinated. Nearly 80% of campus faculty and staff have been vaccinated or partially vaccinated voluntarily.
“We have made vaccination an urgent priority because we believe a fully vaccinated community is the best way to protect ourselves and each other,” a DU statement says.
DU has been offering vaccination events on campus and will continue to offer vaccinations through the spring term. It anticipates extended vaccination invitations to all students by June.
More than 20,000 vaccinations have happened on campus so far.
Additional questions can be directed to Sarah Watamura, DU’s COVID Coordinator, covidcoordinator@du.edu.
4:10 p.m. | Latest coronavirus data
Colorado's seven-day average positivity rate continues to inch higher above the state's threshold of 5%, and hospitalizations jumped to more than 600 for the first time since Feb. 1. Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers, as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, with the change from Monday in parentheses:
493,029 cases (+1,963)
27,017 hospitalized (+163)
64 counties (+0)
2,847,921 people tested (+6,850)
7,523,521 test encounters (+24,865)
6,211 deaths among cases (+10)
6,359 deaths due to COVID-19 (+15)
4,663 outbreaks (+34)
The latest hospital data showed 614 beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, 46 more than Monday. Colorado's seven-day average positivity rate for COVID-19 tests was 5.83%. The state's goal is to remain below 5%.
As of Tuesday, 2,388,773 people in Colorado have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1,513,001 had been fully immunized.
2:55 p.m. | 3 Colorado mass vaccination sites will start taking drive-ups, walk-ups without appointments
With about one-third of eligible Coloradans fully vaccinated and about half of the population having received their first dose, the state is opening up three of the mass vaccination clinics for drive-in and walk-in vaccines that do not require appointments, the governor announced Tuesday.
The mass vaccine sites at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo County, The Ranch Events Complex in Larimer County and Ball Arena in Denver will be open for people to walk up or drive up to be vaccinated starting Wednesday. They will also continue to accept appointments online or by calling 720-263-5737.
The fairground site operates Friday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site at The Ranch operates Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And the Ball Arena site in Denver operates Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Gov. Jared Polis said those three sites, as well as the three other mass vaccination sites in Colorado – in Mesa County at the Grand Junction Convention Center, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, and at Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs – are also often accepting same-day appointments online and appointments just a few days out.
Polis said some of the other state-run mass vaccination sites that are not yet accepting drive-up or walk-up patients could be soon.
Polis and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said that Colorado was nearing the point in coming weeks where vaccine supply could outnumber demand, hence the move to the appointment-free vaccines.
Click here to read the full story.
2:01 p.m. | Vaccinated Coloradans 94.6% less likely to get COVID-19, state officials say
Colorado officials on Tuesday praised the effectiveness of the vaccine in the state, saying fully-vaccinated Coloradans are at least 94.6% less likely to get infected with COVID-19.
The state released data showing 819 "breakthrough" cases of people getting the virus after getting vaccinated, though the number of breakthrough cases compares to more than 1.4 million Coloradans who are fully vaccinated.
Among the breakthrough cases, three have resulted in hospitalizations, state epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy said.
And while Colorado's COVID-19 positivity rate has ticked up in recent weeks, Herlihy said the lowest rate of virus transmission is among those 65 and older, a group that was prioritized early for vaccine access.
The positive vaccine data comes as Colorado is vaccinating more than 30,000 people per day, even as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution was put on hold. The vaccine is available to any Coloradan 16 and older, and 2,366,344 people have received at least one dose.
Gov. Jared Polis called the vaccine's impact "amazing," and said the vaccines are "functioning as advertised."
"It's not a surprise," Polis said, "but it's really good to see."
Still, Herlihy warned of rising case counts in Colorado and the presence of variants that are more transmissible. Hospitalized patients are trending younger, which Herlihy called "concerning."
Officials are hoping case data will improve as more younger Coloradans receive the vaccine this month.
Pointing to data from the week of April 4-10, Herlihy said 140 vaccinated people tested positive for COVID-19 in Colorado out of 985,220 people, a rate of about 1 in 7,000. In that same week, 9,383 unvaccinated people tested positive out of 3.6 million unvaccinated people, a rate of about 1 in 387.
Click here to read the full story.
Monday, April 19
4:20 p.m. | Latest coronavirus data
Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers, as of 4 p.m. Monday, with the change from Sunday in parentheses:
491,066 cases (+777)
26,854 hospitalized (+18)
64 counties (+0)
2,841,071 people tested (+3,648)
7,498,656 test encounters (+12,558)
6,201 deaths among cases (+2)
6,344 deaths due to COVID-19 (+14)
4,629 outbreaks (+9)
The latest hospital data showed 568 beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, 16 more than Sunday. Colorado's seven-day average positivity rate for COVID-19 tests was 5.75%. The state's goal is to remain below 5%.
As of Monday, 2,366,344 people in Colorado have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1,489,481 had been fully immunized.
Click here for the COVID-19 live blog for April 12-April 18, 2021.
