Boulder County nears Level Blue
Boulder County is nearing requirements for the less restrictive Level Blue, but public health officials say it’s still too early to know when the county’s current Level Yellow status could change.
The county on Tuesday reported one new death from the coronavirus and 38 new cases, pushing the total case number to more than 19,000. The county also released data on the number of reinfections, following the state’s announcement Monday that it was adding 822 cases of second infections to its online dashboard.
Angela Simental, Boulder County Public Health acting communications manager, said the person who died was in their 80s and was not a resident at a longterm care facility. The person’s death brings the county’s total death toll to 247.
The number of new cases reported Tuesday brings the county’s total number of cases to 19,003. There were 21 people being treated at Boulder County hospitals because of COVID-19 as of Tuesday.
To date, there have been a total of 577 residents hospitalized, Boulder County Public Health data showed. The seven-day average percent positivity rate was 2.5%.
County closes in on Level Blue
“The county is still in Level Yellow, but getting closer to Level Blue,” said Mike Stratton, Boulder County Public Health communications specialist.
According to the state’s COVID dial, Stratton said Boulder County is in the blue metric for one-week incidences and also for the seven-day average test positivity. The county, however, remains in the yellow metric for 10 days of declining or stable hospitalizations.
“These designations are totally up to the state, but as we understand it, we will need to be in the blue for all three categories for seven days, though there is possibility there might be some flexibility,” Stratton wrote in an email. “Things are looking good, but it is a little too early to predict when we might actually change levels — assuming, of course, that ever yone does their part to keep the virus in check in the county.”
COVID-19 vaccine increase expected; state reports reinfections
Gov. Jared Polis announced in a news conference Tuesday that the state met its goal to vacciexposed to the virus again and not fully vaccinated are susceptible to reinfection.
The University of Colorado Boulder reported four positive tests discovered during testing Monday, according to the university’s online dashboard. There were also 106 diagnostic tests and 2,209 monitoring tests taken. There were four on-campus isolation spaces in use, which makes up 1% of the campus’ isolation reserve space. Since Jan. 4, there have 334 positive results; 5,647 diagnostic tests and 37,894 monitoring tests.
In the Boulder Valley School District, there were 26 active cases and 318 quarantines among 276 students and 42 staff, according to the district’s online coronavirus dashboard.
The St. Vrain Valley School District reported that there were 42 active cases among 34 students and eight staff, its dashboard showed. Throughout the school year, there have been a cumulative 874 cases among 639 students and 235 staff.
Statewide, the CDPHE reported that there are 430,615 cases. Among the cases, there have been 5,959 deaths, and of those, 5,927 deaths because of COVID-19. There have been 23,593 people hospitalized.
Of Colorado’s more than 5.7 million population, there have been 2,585,390 people tested.
Boulder County Public Health will have its weekly community update meeting on the virus at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. People can tune into the online meeting by visiting the county’s website at: bit.ly/3e9arzb.