COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations Falling; Officials Urge Caution

ARVADA, CO — COVID-19 hospitalizations, case rates and positivity rates are trending downward, Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, said at a news conference Thursday.

Herlihy noted that while the state's seven-day moving average had dipped below 5,000 cases, there is still "lots of COVID being transmitted."

"The case rates that we’re seeing right now are still the highest that we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic," she said, but added: "We’re feeling optimistic about the level of decrease we’re seeing."

The state's positivity rates for the virus have also dropped from 29 percent to 16 percent, Herlihy said.

Because cases remain higher than at any time previously during the pandemic, Herlihy urged caution, saying that Coloradans should still "wear masks and use preventative measures."

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is also tracking a new subvariant of the omicron strain — BA.2 — that is circulating in the U.K. and Denmark. Thus far in Colorado, there has been "little detection" of this subvariant, with only three cases so far reported in the Denver Metro area.

Herlihy also cited information from a recently released modeling report from the Colorado School of Public Health, saying that immunity to omicron in Colorado is rising.

"That is giving us reassurance that the next few weeks and months are going to look better and better as far as COVID-19 transmission," she said.

Hospitalizations have also been decreasing and the availability of hospital beds has been trending upward, said COVID-19 incident commander Scott Bookman.

"While everything is headed in the right direction, it is important to acknowledge how hard our healthcare workers have been working. I want to continue to encourage all Coloradans to keep wearing your mask indoors," Bookman said. "Keep getting tested when you don’t feel well. Stay home when you’re ill and most importantly, go ahead and get that first shot if you haven’t gotten it."

"We have a long way to come down from where we have been and we want to ensure that every Coloradan is as protected as they can be as we move out of this wave and hopefully into a several-month period where we’re in a consistent decline," he added.

Bookman said that since the inception of Colorado's free masking and free testing program, more than 3.7 million masks and more than 2 million tests had been distributed statewide.

He also responded to the recent expirations of mask mandates across the state.

"Our local partners are all making the right decisions for their jurisdictions at the right time," Bookman said. "What is important to understand is that there is a big difference from a mandate and a continued recommendation to wear a mask indoors."