NOTE: This is the live blog from Monday, March 30. Click here for the live blog for Tuesday, March 31.
Americans are being asked to continue social distancing through April 30 — 30 days beyond the initial end date — after President Donald Trump said he learned that the U.S. would likely see its peak death rate in about two weeks.
As of Sunday at 4 p.m., Colorado has tested 14,470 in 46 counties. More than 2,300 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 326 people have been hospitalized. Forty-seven people have died, according to the latest update from the CDPHE.
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:
Monday, March 30
8:53 p.m. | Hancock: "Let's stand together to protect our Asian neighbors and friends"
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is urging anyone to report bias-motivated crimes after learning that the Asian community has been targeted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Denver values equity and inclusivity, and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind. It’s disturbing to learn that that there are increasing reports of people in our Asian community being harassed and targeted for this epidemic," he said.
You can report bias-motivated crimes at (720) 913-6458.
7:12 p.m. | 10 Denver firefighters test positive for COVID-19
Ten Denver firefighters have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and are in quarantine at the moment, according to a Denver Fire Department spokesperson Greg Pixley, who added "there is absolutely no way to know if it was a work exposure or if it was brought in off-duty."
We do not know what fire stations those firefighters worked at or when they were tested for COVID-19. Denver7 is trying to find those answers to better inform you about the risk of exposure in your community.
6:45 p.m. | CDPHE: Due to limited number of current tests and PPE, COVID-19 testing prioritized in tiers
Only hospital staff, hospitalized patients, those most at-risk who already have symptoms and critical health care workers and first responders are currently being prioritized for COVID-19 testing because of a limited number of tests and personal protective equipment, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said Monday afternoon.
That had mostly been the case for nearly two weeks in Colorado, but the department issued new guidance on the state’s testing strategy Monday that implements a tier system for testing only those who need it the most at the moment until more equipment is received, the department said. Click here to read the full story.
6:31 p.m. | You can report hoarders of medical supplies
The Colorado U.S. Attorney says it wants Coloradans to report any hoarders of critical medical supplies, be it gloves, masks, and ventilators, which are needed on the front lines for health care workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic across the nation, including Colorado. Call 1-866-720-5721 or email disaster@leo.gov.
5:33 p.m. | Pitkin County COVID-19 symptom tracker dashboard now available
Beginning today, Monday, March 30, the results of the Pitkin County Public Health's symptom tracker and self-reporting form is available via a live dashboard on the department's website. To learn more and view the survey, click here.
5:10 p.m. | Ski industry seeks federal relief from $2 billion worth of losses due to COVID-19
The director of ski and regulatory affairs for the National Ski Areas Association says they are hoping to get some economic relief from the federal government to help ease some of the $2 billion loss they've seen in the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
5 p.m. | Denver inmate tests positive for COVID-19
An inmate at the Downtown Denver Detention Center has tested positive for COVID-19, according to officials. The inmate has been placed in isolation in the medical unit of the jail and is being monitored by Denver Health Medical Staff and the cell where the inmate was being held was decontaminated.
5 p.m. | Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, Medical Center of Aurora receive face shields from Ford
A spokesperson for Denver's Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center says the hospital received 1,000 face shileds courtesy of Ford. A spokesperson for the Medical Center of Aurora also told Denver7 they received face shields from the motor vehicle company.
4:56 p.m. | Eagle County reports 2 more deaths due to COVID-19
Eagle County officials say two people have died due to the novel coronavirus:
-- A man in his 80s, who died on Sunday night (March 29)
-- A man in his 80s, who died on Monday (March 30)
The two patients were at separate hospitals, according to county officials.
4:54 p.m. | "It's real and it's scary": UCHealth doctor describes COVID-19 effects inside hospitals, on patients
A UCHealth doctor described what he is seeing first-hand at the ICU, including younger patients needing ventilators. He said people need to take the stay-at-home order seriously to avoid a hospital overload.
Marc Moss, MD, said many of the people in the UCHealth ICU at the moment were in their 40s and 50s – some even younger, including one who was 19 years old. Of 72 patients at the hospital with COVID-19, 37 are critically ill & 33 of them are on ventilators. Click here to read more.
4:58 p.m. | University of Colorado, Colorado Springs moving spring commencement online
The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs says it will hold its spring commencement online on May 15, 2020 at 1 p.m. Graduates will receive diploma jackets and other materials by mail. Information on how the commencement ceremony will be able to be viewed online will be released at a later date.
4:25 p.m. | Broomfield reports first COVID-19 death
A woman in her 70s who had "extensive underlying conditions" was the first death in the City and County of Broomfield, the city and county's public health department says. No other information about how the patient was exposed to the disease was immediately released.
4 p.m. | CDPHE: COVID-19 cases in Colorado rise to 2,627
The number of positive cases of the novel coronavirus in Colorado has increased to 2,627, a jump of 320 from Sunday's numbers, according to the latest data from the CDPHE. So far, 414 people have been hospitalized and 15,364 people have been tested for the new virus. The state has spread to 47 of Colorado's 64 counties and there have been 14 outbreaks at residential and non-hospital healthcare facilities. A total of 51 deaths have been reported by the state as of 4 p.m. Monday afternoon.
State and health officials say there thousands of more COVID-19 cases that not been diagnosed.
3:58 p.m. | Funding, resources now available to small businesses in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs and El Paso County small businesses impacted by COVID-19 are getting relief in the form of $25,000 in funding.
Beginning today, March 30, Survive & Thrive COS will provide recovery funding, mentoring and other resources to increase the sustainability and future growth of small businesses based based in the Pikes Peak region. The initiative is a partnership between startup accelerator Exponential Impact and the Pikes Peak Community Foundation.
3:06 p.m. | RTD's Access-A-Ride offering grocery delivery service
The Regional Transportation District's Access-A-Ride service will be providing grocery delivery service to those who use currently use the service to get to-and-fro. RTD officials said no fare is required to use the service. In a news release, RTD said grocery pickup was available from King Soopers, Safeway, Community Ministry Southwest food bank, Senior Hub Senior Solutions and Adams County Food Bank. More information can be found on RTD's website.
2:45 p.m. | Jefferson County warns about lack of social distancing
Jefferson County officials are warning that the county's public health department expects a surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases this week. Currently, there are 241 cases in the county, officials said, as they reiterated the importance of social distancing in a Facebook post which showed people gathering at parks and the county's Open Space.
"We know right now many of you are going to our parks and Open Space because they’re so great, but here’s the thing, you’re not helping to flatten the curve. In fact, you could be spreading Covid-19 without even knowing it because you’re asymptomatic and/or you’re not physically distancing yourself from those around you."
In the post, they said the county will be working with the Open Space rangers to educate and enforce the state order for physical distancing.
2:37 p.m. | TSA worker at DIA tests positive for COVID-19
A TSA screening officer who last worked at Denver International Airport on March 21 at the oversize baggage screening check point on Level 6 between 4 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. has tested positive for COVID-19, TSA officials say. Over the past 14 days, 56 TSA screening officers have tested positive for the new virus. Another 22 non-screening employees who "have relatively limited interaction with the traveling public," have also tested positive for COVID-19.
2:22 p.m. | Aurora offers stay-at-home order FAQ in 10 languages
The City of Aurora has posted a FAQ document on the governor's stay-at-home order in nine other languages besides English. You can read it here.
2:17 p.m. | Colorado Attorney General warns of coronavirus relief check scammers
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has issued a consumer advisory warning that scammers are trying to take advantage of Coloradans by using the checks the federal government is scheduled to send many Coloradans as a part of the coronavirus stimulus package as bait to encourage Coloradans to share bank account numbers or other sensitive personal information. Here are some ways you can protect yourself:
-- Don’t respond to texts and emails about checks from the government. The details are still being finalized. Anyone who tells you they can get you the money now is a scammer.
-- Don’t click on links from sources you don’t know. They could download viruses onto your computer or device.
-- The government will not ask you to pay anything up front to get this money.
-- The government will not call to ask for your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card number.
1:50 p.m. | Sen. Bennet among 41 senators to call on feds to help rural health providers
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-CO, along with 41 other senators from across the country, have penned a letter to the Trump administration "urging them to provide immediate help to rural hospitals, clinics, and providers as the spread of the novel coronavirus increasingly strains hospitals and providers across the country." In a news release, the senators called Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to use funding included in the recently passed coronavirus relief package to sustain rural health providers.
You can read the full letter here.
1:45 p.m. | Fourth COVID-19-related death confirmed in Elbert County
According to the Elbert County Coroner, an Elbert County man in his 70s died of COVID-19 at his home on March 26. New postmortem lab results revealed he tested positive for the virus.
1:40 p.m. | Second COVID-19-related death in Pueblo County
On Monday shortly before noon, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed a second COVID-19-related death in Pueblo County. The first person who died of COVID-19 was an 81-year-old woman. The second was an 80-year-old man.
1:10 p.m. | Doctor: "I've never seen anything else like this in my career"
Dr. Marc Moss, head of pulmonology at CU Anschutz and UC Health, emphasized the concern within the medical community about the coronavirus and how hospitals will handled the ongoing surge in patients.
"I've never seen anything else like this in my career," Moss said, speaking at a news conference with Gov. Jared Polis on Monday afternoon. "There are intensive care units filled with people who look like you and me that are on life support systems. And they were healthy a week and a half ago."
12:59 p.m. | Elbert County reports another death due to COVID-19
The Elbert County Office of Emergency Management says a man in his 70s died of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, March 26. The cause of death was revealed after postmortem lab results, the OEM said.
12:50 p.m. | Polis: Coronavirus peak" slightly delayed" as effect of social distancing begins to show
Gov. Jared Polis said data is showing that "we have successfully slightly delayed the peak" of known coronavirus cases in Colorado but that more social distancing measures — including the statewide stay-at-home order — was crucial to slowing the spread of COVID-19 even further.
The data released by the governor Monday showed the spread of the virus appears to be doubling every five days, compared to recent doubling rates of every two days. The data likely reflected the initial rolling closures across the state earlier this month, including bans on gatherings of 10 or more people and shutdown of dining at bars and restaurants. Still, Polis emphasized that a doubling rate of every five days is still a very infectious spread of the virus and that we won't see the effect of last week's stay-at-home order for another week or more.
12:40 p.m. | CDPHE update on coronavirus in Colorado
Colorado's total number of coronavirus deaths rose to 51 by Monday and the number of known cases rose to 2,627.
There were 414 hospitalizations from coronavirus and 15,364 tests completed. Cases have been identified in 47 counties across the state.
On Monday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced that the state will extend a full, 100% tuition credit to anybody defined as an essential worker in the Colorado stay-at-home public health order.
More updated numbers were expected later Monday afternoon.
The new Emergency Child Care Collaborative, which officially began on March 23, is available to any essential worker who needs help with child care.
Essential workers are identified those who work in health care, public safety, sanitation, groceries, child care, and education, among other industries.
All essential workers will have the opportunity to get free child care through May 17, according to an announcement Monday morning by the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS).
10:05 a.m. | Colorado House adjourns until Thursday
Though the suspension of the General Assembly session will continue as the body awaits guidance from the Colorado Supreme Court, the Colorado House of Representatives gaveled in briefly, with nine lawmakers present and 56 excused.
“The spread of COVID-19 is a dangerous public health emergency that is taking lives every day. While balancing the need to protect the public health with the need to do the people’s work, to the extent possible we want to avoid risking the health of everyone involved at the legislature--be it the public, legislators, staff, or members of the press--and we don’t want to risk further spreading the disease,” said Speaker KC Becker, D-Boulder. “These are unprecedented times, and there is a lot of uncertainty particularly as we wait to hear from the Supreme Court. Today, we’re continuing the suspension while we wait to learn from the Supreme Court whether we can pick up where we left off in the session or whether we continue our business, regardless of the pandemic, in order to adjourn on May 6.”
9:30 a.m. | Gov. Polis news conference set for noon
Today is National Doctor's Day. We thank them today and every day for all they've done for us, and what they continue to do throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
4:26 a.m. | Test sites to open in Aurora, Wheat Ridge
Gov. Jared Polis is expected to host a news conference at noon Monday at the Emergency Operations Center in Centennial to discuss the latest on Colorado’s response to COVID-19.
We will carry it live on our website, social media platforms and streaming apps, as well as over the air.
5 a.m. | Thank a doctor!
Today is National Doctor's Day. We thank them today and every day for all they've done for us, and what they continue to do throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
4:26 a.m. | Test sites to open in Aurora, Wheat Ridge
STRIDE Community Health Center (STRIDE CHC) will reopen a drive-through testing site today. It will be at the Aurora Health & Wellness Plaza at 10680 Del Mar Parkway. Beginning Tuesday, testing will also be available at Jeffco Family Health Services Center at 7495 W. 29th Avenue in Wheat Ridge. Both locations will be open from 9 a.m. to noon and then 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It will close between noon and 1 p.m.
This testing is available for hospital workers, healthcare employees, first responders and the public. Click here for more testing sites from STRIDE CHC.
