Boulder County Public Health reported Monday afternoon that its latest tally of positive and probable cases of coronavirus had grown to 842, up from the 829 Sunday afternoon.
The number of Boulder County deaths attributed to COVID-19 remained at 56.
Officials said as of Monday afternoon, 325 people had recovered from the illness; 150 people had required hospitalization. Boulder County epidemiologists have 153 disease investigations in progress.
Longmont continued to be the County municipality with the highest number of positive or probable cases according to county health officials, at 409. Boulder had 226 cases; Lafayette 75; Louisville 47; the Boulder County portion of Erie 20; Superior five and Lyons three.
Of the 842 cases, 55 are residents of unincorporated Boulder County and five were categorized as experiencing homelessness.
Longmont also has the highest rate of infection at 426.1 people per 100,000 residents. Lafayette is second with 259.1, Louisville third at 221.9 and Boulder fourth at 212.3. Unincorporated Boulder County is at 123.7.
Boulder County Public Health spokeswoman Chana Goussetis said in an email the latest county data summary — which can be viewed at tinyurl.com/y83ook98 — “shows a continuation of the steady trend of residents continuing to become ill from COVID-19 and emphasizes the need for all of us to continue to be diligent in following the recommended precautions.
“We are pleased to see that there is no increase in the five-day average of new cases,” Goussetis said.
“Boulder County is still under the safer at home order, which requires all residents to stay at home as much as possible. With the beautiful spring weather upon us, we understand that we’re all eager to get out and spend time outdoors — it’s important to our physical and mental wellbeing — but we must enjoy the sunshine while keeping six feet distance from others. We are hearing more and more reports of crowds at popular outdoor locations,” she said.
Goussetis said Monday’s update “also highlights the impact of COVID-19 on younger people. With additional people in younger age groups testing positive for the disease, it is a warning to all of us that although younger people may not require hospitalization for COVID-19, although some do, it is a disease that is impacting people at every age.”
Statewide, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported Monday afternoon that total deaths have reached 1,224, including 921 directly attributed to COVID-19 and 303 in which the respiratory disease was not the cause of death listed on the death certificate.
That was up from the 1,215 reported Sunday.
Of the total 22,202 probable and positive coronavirus cases tallied in Monday afternoon’s state report, 3,899 people were hospitalized at some point.
The report showed 213 cases and 22 deaths in Broomfield, and 2,305 cases and 123 deaths in Weld County.
Statewide, about 460 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 – down from a peak of 888 simultaneous hospitalizations in mid-April. In the past 24 hours, about 42 patients have been discharged or moved to lower levels of care as their conditions improved, according to the state data.
The state is tracking 228 outbreaks in group settings, including in nursing homes, prisons and factories.
Colorado now has tested 129,159 people, with 22,202 listed as positive cases. Gov. Jared Polis on Monday announced the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity has expanded to the point where anyone exhibiting systems should be able to get a free test.
The state’s testing rate — 57.14 tests per 100,000 people on Monday — has been improving in recent weeks, but still hovers around half of the 152 tests per 100,000 people that health experts have said is necessary to safely monitor the virus.
Boulder County’s Goussetis said in light of Polis’ Monday testing availability announcement, “we encourage anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 to contact their health care provider to get tested.
— Shelly Bradbury of the Denver Post contributed to this story.
