Confirmed cases in Colorado top 14,000

Colorado’s coronavirus death toll stood at 736 Tuesday, with 14,316 cases of COVID-19 confirmed through testing in the state.

About 784 people were hospitalized with COVID19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and 72 had been discharged in the last 24 hours, according to data released Tuesday by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Officials estimate the actual number of COVID-19 cases in the state to be several times higher than the infections confirmed through testing, both because of limited testing and because of asymptomatic carriers of the virus.

At least 67,094 people have been tested for the virus, according to the state data, which is updated daily. The state is testing between 2,000 and 3,000 people a day, incident commander Scott Bookman said Tuesday, and officials have set the goal of eventually testing 10,000 people per day.

The state is also working to hire 50 additional epidemiologists and to enlist volunteers to increase its ability to do contact tracing, a process in which officials work to identify people who might have been exposed to the virus by tracing confirmed patients’ movements before the patients knew they were infected.

On Tuesday, the state was tracking 149 outbreaks at facilities like nursing homes, prisons and factories.

The state has spent about $70 million in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Mike Willis, director of the state emergency operations center, said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

“That fluctuates every day,” he said, adding later, “If we order and the supplier can’t deliver it, we cancel those orders and the number goes down. If we find opportunities to purchase PPE or other equipment necessary to keep Coloradans safe, the number will go up a little bit.”

Colorado on Monday lifted its stay-at-home order and allowed some parts of the economy to begin reopening, issuing a 34-page public health order with detailed guidelines and standards for various activities and industries.

The loosening of restrictions does not apply in places that have more restrictive local health orders in place, including Denver, Jefferson, Broomfield, Boulder, Adams, Arapahoe and Pitkin counties, which have extended their local stay-athome orders into May.

Residents are required to follow the most strict guidelines issued for their area,

Willis said.

“If your jurisdiction has imposed greater or more restrictive measures, it is important to follow those,” he said. “And if they have not, it is important to follow the state guide.”

Businesses that violate the state public health order on reopening will be served with cease-and-desist letters and could lose their licenses.