DENVER — New COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported at three Colorado schools, a Boulder sorority and a church in Greeley, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
9,799 confirmed cases, and 903 confirmed deaths, are connected to 646 outbreaks in Colorado. So, at least 16.3% of all cases and at least 45.6% of deaths among COVID cases in Colorado stemmed from an outbreak. Nursing homes, indoor offices and child care centers are the most common types of active outbreaks.
The CDPHE publishes a new outbreak list each Wednesday afternoon. For an outbreak to be resolved, CDPHE said 28 days must pass with no new illnesses. Two cases constitute an outbreak, and the numbers are cumulative, meaning if an entity has a certain number of cases, that doesn’t mean all those people were sick at once.
> Watch the video above for a previous 9NEWS story about an app that tracks coronavirus contacts.
There has been one death within the New Genesis Transitional Living Shelter, marking the first member of the homeless community to die from a confirmed COVID-19 case within the outbreak data.
Outside of a bridge tournament in March – one of the earliest COVID-19 outbreaks – there have been no confirmed attendee deaths as the result of an outbreak.
Only two outbreaks that led to staff deaths remain active: the one at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley that has led to six deaths and 290 confirmed cases as of this writing, and at Steven Roberts Original Desserts in Adams County, where one staff member has died since the outbreak was determined in May.
Keep reading for a look at active COVID-19 outbreaks in Colorado by category.
Schools
There are six active COVID-19 outbreaks at Colorado K-12 schools, according to the CDPHE’s data. Those schools are:
Primrose School at Lowry (Denver)
- Two staff cases
- One attendee case
GOAL High School – Fountain (El Paso County)
- Two staff cases
Jordahl Elementary School (Fountain)
- Two attendee cases
Battle Mountain High School (Eagle County)
- Two staff cases
Bear Creek Elementary School (El Paso County)
- Four staff cases
- One attendee case
Sand Creek Elementary School (Douglas County)
- One staff case
- Two attendee cases
Larger outbreaks have been associated at Colorado colleges and universities. Eight residents at the Pi Beta Phi sorority at University of Colorado Boulder have tested positive for COVID-19, and one person has a probable case, according to the data.
Meanwhile, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the Kappa Sigma fraternity has experienced a second outbreak. Eight attendees have tested positive for COVID-19 and five have probable cases, the data says. According to a 9Wants to Know analysis of the data, the fraternity went 15 days before the next outbreak began on September 3rd and is still active. The same fraternity had seven confirmed cases in an outbreak that lasted 27 days from July to August.
Colorado College, which has switched to online-only learning, has 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 29 probable cases. There have been no deaths associated with schools.
There are 166 confirmed cases among 32 total school, college and child care outbreaks.
CU Boulder’s COVID-19 dashboard said the campus has 133 cumulative cases since August 24. That is up from 16 cumulative cases as of Sept 2. A CDPHE said in an email last week that those 16 weren’t an outbreak because many of those cases were from students arriving on campus and thus didn’t count as an outbreak.
"Many of these cases are students who tested positive upon initial arrival at the campus, so they do not meet the definition of an outbreak; although, they are counted in the cases," Gabi Johnston, a spokesperson for CDPHE, said in a Sept. 3 email. "Public health is monitoring additional cases with CU and if an outbreak is detected, it will be reported on CPDHE’s website."
The agency has not responded as to why those more than 100 cases are not in this week’s outbreak data outside of that small sorority outbreak.
CSU's COVID-19 dashboard said there have been 118 cumulative cases at the university. They are not reflected in the CDPHE data. The agency did not immediately return a request for comment.
Restaurants
There are active COVID-19 outbreaks at 14 Colorado restaurants, according to the data. These outbreaks have led to 61 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, but no confirmed deaths.
There are 304 total confirmed cases connected to 76 total bar and restaurant outbreaks in Colorado. 18 of those are active.
Health care
There are 5,172 confirmed cases and 860 confirmed deaths among 229 outbreaks in health care settings like nursing homes and assisted living facilities. That is an increase of 62 cases and three deaths from last week, possibly showing that last week’s bump in cases was a outlier.
26, or 11%, of those 229 health care outbreaks are active. At least 8.6% of Colorado’s cases have happened in health care outbreaks. At least 43.5% of Colorado’s deaths among COVID-19 cases have happened in health care outbreaks.
Jails, prisons and correctional facilities
There are 1,457 confirmed cases and four confirmed deaths connected to 24 outbreaks at jails, prisons and correctional facilities in Colorado. There were 10 confirmed cases added from last week. Nine outbreaks are still active.
Sterling Correctional Facility, with 612 total confirmed cases, is the site of the worst correctional outbreak. It’s worth noting that while there are 211 confirmed cases at Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center, there are 371 additional probable cases at the facility. Not including probable cases, it is still the second largest prison outbreak.
Homeless
New Genesis Transitional Living Shelter added two confirmed cases. Someone died at that shelter as well. That is the first member of the homeless community to die from a confirmed COVID-19 case.
There are 207 confirmed cases, and one confirmed death, connected to five homeless outbreaks. There are two homeless outbreaks that are active.
Retailers
According to the CDPHE data, there are active COVID-19 outbreaks at three Colorado Home Depots and two Walmarts.
Below is a spreadsheet with all of the active outbreaks at Colorado stores, according to the CDPHE.
Churches
There are five active COVID-19 outbreaks at Colorado churches, according to the CDPHE's data.
This has led to 26 confirmed attendee cases of COVID-19. Below is a list of active outbreaks at Colorado religious facilities:
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