Cases, hospitalizations plateau

New COVID- 19 cases in Colorado dropped again last week to finish out August, though it appears the pandemic may be hitting a plateau.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported 1,913 cases of the new coronavirus during the week ending Sunday. That’s about 144, or 7%, fewer cases than in the previous week.

New cases began dropping in the last week of July following six weeks or rising infections. The new cases had fallen faster in the weeks immediately following that mid- July spike, but the decline started to level out in mid- August.

Hospitalizations also remained relatively steady to end August. As of Monday, 241 people were hospitalized in Colorado with confirmed or suspected COVID- 19. The number of combined hospitalizations has fluctuated between 210 and 270 for the second half of the month.

It appears deaths might be falling, though it’s difficult to be certain because of delayed reporting. So far, 10 deaths have been reported in the week ending Sunday. The state reported about 30 deaths per week in late July and early August.

Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, said new cases, hospitalizations and deaths have plateaued at a sustainable level. What remains to be seen is whether they will start to increase again as people celebrate a holiday weekend, students return to their classrooms and cooler weather drives socialization indoors, he said.

About 2.1% of COVID- 19 tests came back positive over the last three days, which is well below the 5% threshold experts recommend. If more than 5% of tests are positive, it could indicate a state is missing infections.

A total of 57,424 people have had the new coronavirus in Colorado, and 7,028 were hospitalized. So far, 1,849 people have died directly from the virus, and 96 others had it in their system when they died.