More than 59,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Colorado since the virus was first detected in March, though state health officials believe there are many more cases that have gone unreported due to lack of testing.
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.
Sunday, Sept. 13
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers for Colorado
Colorado saw more than 400 cases of the novel coronavirus from Saturday into Sunday, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
61,324 cases (+417)
7,227 hospitalized (+4)
63 counties (+0)
780,305 people tested (+7,020)
1,124,181 test encounters (+12,609)
1,988 deaths among cases (+0)
1,889 deaths due to COVID-19 (+0)
660 outbreaks (+2)
The latest hospital data shows 228 hospital beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, with 6 patients discharged or transferred from hospitals over the past 24 hours and 67% of state hospitals reporting. Saturday’s 3-day moving average positivity rate was 2.52%. The state’s target is to remain below 5%.
Saturday, Sept. 12
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers for Colorado
Colorado saw more than 400 cases of the novel coronavirus from Friday into Saturday, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
60,907 cases (+415)
7,223 hospitalized (+15)
63 counties (+0)
773,285 people tested (+7,172)
1,111,572 test encounters (+13,587)
1,988 deaths among cases (+3)
1,889 deaths due to COVID-19 (+0)
658 outbreaks (+3)
The latest hospital data shows 226 hospital beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, with 17 patients discharged or transferred from hospitals over the past 24 hours and 80% of state hospitals reporting. Friday’s 3-day moving average positivity rate was 2.23%. The state’s target is to remain below 5%.
Friday, Sept. 11
7:57 p.m. | Colorado’s mask order likely to be extended another 30 days
Coloradans likely will be required to wear masks while in public indoor spaces for at least another 30 days, Gov. Jared Polis said Friday.
The mask mandate is set to expire this weekend, but Polis said successful mask-wearing is the reason the state is able to talk about reopening schools and the possibility of high school football this fall.
6:15 p.m. | Kindergarten, 1st grade students to begin in-person learning at Denver Public Schools on Sept. 28
Kindergarten and 1st grade students will begin in-person classes at Denver Public Schools later this month, the district announced in a newsletter to parents and staff Friday evening.
District officials said the return for students will happen in a phased approach, with Kindergarten students, some first-grade students, and primary special-education center students returning to class the wee of Sept. 28 through Oct. 2. The following week, Oct. 5-9, will see the return of all first-grade students.
Grades 2-5 will begin health and safety orientations the week of Oct. 12-16, the district said in the newsletter.
On Oct. 21, all elementary schools - including early childhood education through 5th grade - will return to full in-person learning. That same day, grades 6-12 will return to a mix of in-person and remote learning, the district said.
You can read the full newsletter here.
6:02 p.m. | Gov. Polis, CHSAA working on variances to allow for high school football in the fall
The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) said in a tweet Friday evening it was resubmitting modified variances & safety implementation plans that were previously submitted to Gov. Jard Polis and this team for football, spirit & volleyball, "in hopes they will be reconsidered." The association also said it would be also submit variances for field hockey, gymnastics, soccer & unified bowling.
The move comes two days after the CHSAA board of directors voted against reversing course and deciding it won't try to have a season this semester, despite the state giving high schools the green light to have a football season this fall, if districts were ready to do so safely.
On Friday, Gov. Polis tweeted they were working with CHSAA to approve variances for football and field hockey, and said they were working together to develop guidelines or variances for additional sports "at a later date" and indoor sports when they could be played safely.
4:37 p.m. | Westminster High School going to remote classes until Sept. 22 after COVID-19 identified
Westminster High School will go to fully-remote classes until Sept. 22 after a case of COVID-19 was identified in a cohort of students at the school.
4:25 p.m. | Denver reducing lanes for COVID-19 testing at Pepsi Center starting this weekend
The City of Denver will reduce the number of drive-thru lanes for free COVID-19 testing at the Pepsi Center from eight to four starting this Sunday, according to a spokesperson with the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE).
DDPHE executive director Robert McDonald said the site provided, "the broad, regional testing capacity needed early in our response, to stand in the gap to give the city time to build out a community-based testing program."
McDonald said the transition will make way for expanded community-based testing sites after Sept. 30.
City officials did warn that as a result of the reduction in drive-thru lanes, people should expect longer wait times. Residents wanting to get tested at the drive-thru site are asked to register ahead of time.
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers from Colorado
Colorado saw more than 300 cases of the novel coronavirus from Thursday into Friday, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
60,492 cases (+307)
7,208 hospitalized (+22)
63 counties (+0)
766,113 people tested (+5,503)
1,097,985 test encounters (+10,786)
1,985 deaths among cases (+6)
1,889 deaths due to COVID-19 (+0)
655 outbreaks (+3)
The latest hospital data shows 232 hospital beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients – 8 fewer than Thursday with 22 patients discharged or transferred from hospitals over the past 24 hours and 82% of state hospitals reporting. Tuesday’s 3-day moving average positivity rate was 3.02%. The state’s target is to remain below 5%.
Click here to explore the latest COVID-19 case data for Colorado.
2 p.m. | Gov. Polis provides update on state's COVID-19 response
Gov. Jared Polis on Friday gave a COVID-19 update from Fort Morgan, where he discussed the economic recovery of the Eastern Plains, the possibility of high school football this fall and where the state stands with the latest COVID-19 data. Watch the full news conference below.
Thursday, Sept. 10
7:44 p.m. | Golden votes to extend mask mandate
Golden City Council has voted to extend the city-wide mask mandate again, this time through October 9, 2020.
The mask mandate was originally enacted on July 9 and would have expired on Aug. 14, but was first extended to tonight. City Council will review further extension of the ordinance on Oct. 8.
5:51 p.m. | Another high school student at Cherry Creek Schools tests positive for COVID-19
A student at Cherokee Trail High School has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Cherry Creek Schools officials said in a letter to parents Thursday. Guidance they received from the CDPHE following a public health investigation showed "that there is no impact to other students or staff."
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers from Colorado
60,185 cases (+265)
7,186 hospitalized (+13)
63 counties (+0)
760,610 people tested (+4,312)
1,087,199 test encounters (+7,923)
1,979 deaths among cases (+2)
1,889 deaths due to COVID-19 (+7)
652 outbreaks (+6)
The latest hospital data shows 240 hospital beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients – 14 more than Wednesday with 9 patients discharged or transferred from hospitals over the past 24 hours and 85% of state hospitals reporting. Wednesday’s 3-day moving average positivity rate was 3.24%. The state’s target is to remain below 5%.
Click here to explore the latest COVID-19 case data for Colorado.
12:41 p.m. | State launches COVID-19 outbreak map
Colorado launched a new map that tracks outbreaks by setting and whether they are still active or resolved – expanding upon data sets the state had used so far to publish outbreak data.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment releases updated outbreak reports each Wednesday and say the map will be another tool for Coloradans to sort through the data.
Each outbreak is identified with a symbol based on the setting. Gray markers show resolved outbreaks. Every icon includes more details on the number of people involved and the dates the outbreak was active.
As of Thursday, 77% of the 646 outbreaks identified during the pandemic thus far had been resolved.
Last week saw the fewest number of new outbreaks since the onset of the pandemic, according to the data.
The map can be found on Colorado’s COVID-19 data page by clicking on “Outbreaks” then on “Click to Show Map of Outbreaks.” More data can be found on the outbreaks tab broken down in charts.
7:30 a.m. | Initial regular unemployment claims under 6,000
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported that 5,974 regular initial unemployment claims and 2,216 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims were filed the week ending on Sept. 5. Additionally, 3,253 PUA initial claims were filed the week ending Aug. 29.
Since mid-March, a total of 548,593 regular unemployment initial claims and 156,589 pandemic unemployment assistance claims have been filed.
The CDLE also announced revisions to PUA initial claims numbers for the weeks of July 18-Aug. 22, due to the implementation of a new fraud trigger which removed fraudulent claims from weekly totals. Initial PUA claims for that period were revised down from 62,498 to 14,292 after removing fraudulent claims. Since the middle of June, the CDLE has implemented 18 fraud detection triggers for these claims. This prevented an estimated $750 million to over a billion dollars in fraudulent unemployment payments.
For the week ending on Aug. 29, a combined total of 243,028 continued claims were filed, including 161,759 from regular UI, 64,676 from PUA, and 16,593 from Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
The CDLE also announced it has paid over $4.8 billion in unemployment benefits since March 29.
Click here to read the full story.
7 a.m.| Nearly 900K people sought unemployment last week
The number of Americans applying for jobless aid was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs are stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy. Read the full story here.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-9 numbers from Colorado
59,920 cases (+246)
7,173 hospitalized (+12)
63 counties (+0)
756,298 people tested (+3,089)
1,079,276 test encounters (+5,297)
1,977 deaths among cases (+4)
1,882 deaths due to COVID-19 (+14)
646 outbreaks (+12)
The latest hospital data shows 226 hospital beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients – 8 more than Tuesday with 9 patients discharged or transferred from hospitals over the past 24 hours and 85% of state hospitals reporting. Tuesday’s 3-day moving average positivity rate was 2.97%. The state’s target is to remain below 5%.
Click here to explore the latest COVID-19 case data for Colorado.
Tuesday, Sept. 8
4:33 p.m. | Garfield County School District moves some classes to remote learning after student tests positive for COVID-19
Coal Ridge High School, part of the Garfield Re-2 District School, will transition several classes to remote learning after a high school student there tested positive for COVID-19.
The school district says approximately 100 students and nine teachers will make the transition and quarantine for 14 days.
District officials say they are working closely with Garfield County Public Health and have conducted contact tracing to determine how many other people were possibly exposed to the positive student.
4:08 p.m. | Colorado partnering with Apple, Google for software that can notify people exposed to COVID-19
Colorado officials announced Tuesday the state would be partnering with Apple and Google and rolling out cell phone services later this month to help with anonymous COVID-19 exposure and contact tracing for people who opt in.
Officials stressed that the software would not relay any personal health information of the people who use it and that it does not track or report location information or get saved “in any way, shape or form.”
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers from Colorado
59,674 cases (+187)
7,161 hospitalized (+19)
63 counties (+0)
753,209 people tested (+2,919)
1,073,979 test encounters (+4,373)
1,973 deaths among cases (+0)
1,868 deaths due to COVID-19 (+2)
634 outbreaks (+3)
The latest hospital data shows 218 hospital beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients – 19 fewer than Monday with 19 patients discharged or transferred from hospitals over the past 24 hours and 75% of state hospitals reporting. Sunday’s 3-day moving average positivity rate was 2.54%. The state’s target is to remain below 5%.
Click here to explore the latest COVID-19 case data for Colorado.
Monday, Sept. 7
5:37 p.m. | Gov. Jared Polis, CHSAA to reconsider a fall football season in Colorado
In an email obtained by our ABC affiliate station in Colorado Springs, KOOA News 5, CHSAA Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green announced on Monday that she will be meeting with Governor Jared Polis and his COVID-19 response team this week to reconsider the 2020-2021 football season as previously approved by the Governor's office.
4 p.m. | Latest COVID-19 numbers from Colorado
59,487 cases (+213)
7,142 hospitalized (+4)
63 counties (+0)
750,290 people tested (+5,847)
1,069,606 test encounters (+10,049)
1,973 deaths among cases (+1)
1,866 deaths due to COVID-19 (+0)
631 outbreaks (+0)
The latest hospital data shows 237 hospital beds in use by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients – 10 more than Sunday with 17 patients discharged or transferred from hospitals over the past 24 hours and 68% of state hospitals reporting. Sunday’s 3-day moving average positivity rate was 2.22%. The state’s target is to remain below 5%.
Click here to explore the latest COVID-19 case data for Colorado.
Click here for the coronavirus blog from Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2020.
