Health Officials Cautiously Optimistic As CO COVID Cases Drop

DENVER, CO — COVID-19 cases and positivity rates are continuing to drop, with a seven-day moving average of cases that is lower than it has been in months, Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, said at a news conference Thursday.

"Our seven-day moving average is just below 1,500. It has been many months since we’ve seen a case level that low," Herlihy said, adding that she is "continuing to feel optimistic about these trends that we’re seeing."

The latest positivity data at just under seven percent represents another significant reduction, Herlihy said. Hospitalization numbers are likewise decreasing, with only 641 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state as of Wednesday.

State modeling projections estimated as of Sunday that one in every 69 Coloradans was infectious, a number that Herlihy said is "higher than we want it to be," though estimations also hold that about 90 percent of Coloradans are now immune to the virus, and more than 90 percent of Coloradans are immune to "severe infection" from the virus.

"We do see evidence of waning immunity over time, but all the way out to June those levels stay pretty high," Herlihy said. "This is impacted by the potential for a new variant, which would change the picture."

Despite this high level of immunity across the state, Herlihy said that immunity is not completely consistent across the state.

"We are going to have communities where there’s pockets of lower vaccination rates, so the overall immunity level in certain communities is going to be less than it is in parts of the state," she said. "We know that certain individuals are going to see greater waning immunity than other individuals. Despite the fact that overall this news is very promising, we still know that there are vulnerable people and there can continue to be pockets of outbreaks going forward."

And, for the first time since the fall of 2021, Colorado has more available hospital beds than it has COVID hospitalizations, said Scott Bookman, the state's COVID-19 incident commander. As of Thursday, 841 beds are available across the state.

Also as of Thursday morning, the state deactivated its "crisis standards of care," which were implemented in November and again in January, Bookman said, adding that Colorado is at "a point where those crisis standards of care are no longer necessary."

"Our hospitals have been under an enormous amount of stress," he said. "We want to thank with incredible gratitude our first responders."

Citing the recent repeals of mask mandates in local communities across the state, Bookman said that the state is moving toward a time of personal choice in regard to masking.

"I’m still going to wear a mask when I go into a grocery store. That’s the choice I’m going to make," he said. "We will continue to recommend that people make the choice that’s best for them. For those who are all up to date on the vaccine, we’re reaching a point where they can go back to living their lives with a bit more normalcy. Things are changing rapidly and there is a lot of promise in the future here."

"As of today, we continue to recommend that people wear masks when they’re indoors," Bookman added. "We support local decision-making and are moving into a period where indoor mask use will continue to wane over time."

Bookman also said that moving into this coming period of time with fewer masks and fewer, less-restrictive mask mandates, it is more important than ever to respect those who choose to continue to wear a mask.

And despite the positive trends in infections and infection rates, as well as in hospitalizations, Bookman's message is still one of "cautious optimism."

"Today, disease rates are still quite high. We do acknowledge that this is moving quickly. But the virus is moving quickly as well, and we need to make sure that we are moving at the pace that is required," he said, adding that the state needs to remain prepared for the possibility of another variant.

"The virus," Bookman added, "is unpredictable. It has really been leading the show here. What I can say is that Coloradans have all come together to meet the challenges of this pandemic over the last two years. We’ve lost a lot of Coloradans, and we’ve seen enormous impact on our healthcare system, on our schools. It has been an incredibly difficult two years, but I am proud of the way our state has come together to meet those challenges."