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Colorado coronavirus latest, May 11: Aurora will not require face masks, mayor says

In a Facebook post, Aurora mayor Mike Coffman said it's because the city is already seeing many people wear masks and because a mandate is hard to enforce.

DENVER — In a Facebook post Monday night, Aurora mayor Mike Coffman said he will not be proposing a mask mandate for the city. 

Also on Monday, two websites aimed at helping Coloradans navigate the COVID-19 crisis also launched 

ConnectToCareJobs.com addresses healthcare workforce shortages by connecting residential care facilities (like nursing homes and assisted living facilities) that need employees with health care professionals who need jobs. 

And Denver City Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer has launched a new database intended to help support local small businesses and consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those are among the the coronavirus updates for the state Monday. More details are below, and we'll continue to post information as it comes in throughout the day. 

> VIDEO: Thinking of getting a face shield? Here are some things to consider

WHAT TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

Click/tap here to read updates from May 10.

Aurora residents will not be required to wear masks

Aurora mayor Mike Coffman announced in a Facebook post Monday night that he will not be proposing a mask mandate for the city at this time. 

In the post, he said that he was originally planning to propose requiring masks in grocery stores for 30 days. 

However, after a virtual meeting with city council and Dr. John Douglas, the executive director for the Tri-County Health Department, Coffman said he changed his mind. 

Coffman said Douglas did not support the proposal because they have already been strongly encouraging wearing masks and "are seeing a very positive response, particularly in grocery stores." According to Coffman's post, Douglas was also concerned the mandate would not be able to be enforced.

Coffman said he relies on the advice of public health experts and is, therefore, pulling back his proposal. He said he will reevaluate the decision in early June. 

RELATED: Here are the Colorado cities where face masks are required in essential businesses

368 inmates test positive for COVID-19

Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) released updated information on staff and prisoners who have fallen ill from COVID-19.

As of May 8:

  • 1,823 prisoners in the state had been tested. Sterling Correctional had tested the most, at 1,415.
  • 368 inmates statewide tested positive. Sterling has the most positive cases at 329.
  • 365 prisoners are currently being treated for COVID-19 statewide.
  • Two inmates have died from the coronavirus. Both were jailed at Sterling Correctional.

CDOC said 40 corrections officers were on leave as of May 8. Of those on leave, 25 had confirmed positive COVID-19 test results. 

New website aims to address health care workforce shortages during COVID-19 

A new website has launched to help address health care workforce shortages during the COVID-19 public health emergency and beyond.

ConnectToCareJobs.com will connect residential care facilities that need employees with health care professionals who need jobs. 

The initial launch of ConnectToCareJobs.com is focused on residential care facilities but may expand to include hospitals and home care agencies in subsequent phase

The website is a public-private partnership between the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF), ADvancing States and Centene Corporation. 

Councilwoman launches #WeAreOpenDenver website 

As Denver transitioned to a safer-at-home model over the weekend and local businesses began to reopen, Denver City Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer launched a new interactive website showing locations of open local businesses. 

Users can input their address or click to geolocate themselves, and the map automatically shows businesses that have registered with the site and are close by. The site also has several filters to help people find the goods and services they need.

“I am so excited to support small business in this way,” Sawyer said. “These establishments are the lifeblood of our community and they are struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 response. Shopping locally helps the hard-working business owners who are our neighbors and friends, and it keeps money in our local economy which is a win for us all.”

Shuttle parking lots at DIA now closed

Denver International Airport has closed its shuttle parking lots – including Pikes Peak and Mt. Elbert. Those will stay closed until further notice, although shuttles will still run there to take passengers back to their cars. 

The East Economy lot remains closed, but all other DEN public parking lots are open, including West Economy, the east and west garages, short-term parking and the 61st and Peña lot. 

The airport is only seeing about 7% of  the travelers it saw on the same week a year ago. More than 1,000 flights each day have also been cut from the airport's schedule.

DIA is now requiring all visitors and passengers to wear face coverings while at the airport until further notice. All employees at the airport are also required to do the same.

RELATED: Airport among places where you'll be required to wear a face mask

Cafe in Castle Rock ordered to close for violation of public health order

The Tri-County Health Dept. ordered the C&C Breakfast & Korean Kitchen to close after it garnered nationwide attention for its controversial decision to open its doors on Sunday.

In addition, Polis said the state health department has suspended the restaurant's business license "indefinitely" — likely at least 30 days.

FULL STORY: Cafe in Castle Rock ordered to close for violation of public health order

Coronavirus cases in Colorado

In Colorado, CDPHE reports 19,879 people have tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, up from 19,703 the day prior. 

Fatalities

CDPHE reports that 987 people have died, up from 971 the day before. The majority of deaths — 54.58% — are among people over age 80; 23.38% of deaths occurred in people between ages 70-79 and 13.49% were in people ages 60-69.

The graph below shows the total number of people in Colorado who have died after a COVID-19 diagnosis, since the first death happened on March 13.

The median number of new deaths per day is 16 for the first 11 days of May. For the same time period in April, a median of 15 more people died each day.

Hospitalizations

Of those who tested positive for the disease, 3,663 hospitalizations have been reported, up from 3,631 the day prior.

As of 4 p.m. on May 11, 557 patients are currently hospitalized with the disease, according to the most recent data from the Colorado Hospital Association. Within the last 24 hours, 53 patients have been transferred or discharged.

This graphic shows the number of people currently hospitalized with a COVID-19 diagnosis and the number of people who have been discharged within 24 hours. This is a key metric because it can be an indicator of whether or not Colorado’s hospital system is being overwhelmed by the virus. 

Those currently hospitalized dropped 19% from last Monday.

Testing

According to CDPHE, 106,761 people have been tested, up from 104,077 the day prior, and 60 counties are reporting cases, the same number as the day before. 

This graphic shows the number of tests the state processed in a day. This is another key metric because the state’s ability to reopen will depend on the number of tests Colorado can run each day. As testing improves, the number of cases will rise because the more you can test, the more you will find cases. 

Colorado processed a median of 1,851.5 tests a day for the first ten days of April. Now the median is 3,385 for the first ten days of May.

Please note that there may be a lull or spike in reported case data due to how it's reported. CDPHE data changes as labs, hospitals, facilities and local agencies report their own data. For example, a spike in the number of deaths does not necessarily mean that many more people died within 24 hours, but rather is indicative of when the data is entered into the system. New data is released daily at 4 p.m.

See the latest numbers from the state health department.

  • Denver: 4,118
  • Arapahoe: 3,313
  • Adams: 2,278
  • Weld: 2,159
  • Jefferson: 1,658
  • El Paso: 1,137
  • Boulder: 777
  • Douglas: 604
  • Eagle: 559
  • Morgan: 517
  • Larimer: 452
  • Logan: 432
  • Broomfield: 200
  • Pueblo: 185
  • Gunnison: 173
  • Summit: 169
  • Montrose: 127
  • Garfield: 103
  • Chaffee: 68
  • La Plata: 65
  • Routt: 58
  • Delta: 55
  • Pitkin: 54
  • Mesa: 51
  • Elbert: 39
  • Crowley: 39
  • Alamosa: 32
  • Teller: 31
  • Kit Carson: 25
  • Montezuma: 24
  • Fremont: 23
  • Lake: 23
  • San Miguel: 20
  • Park: 16
  • Clear Creek: 14
  • Baca: 12
  • Yuma: 11
  • Otero: 10
  • Washington: 9
  • Prowers: 9
  • Philips: 9
  • Archuleta: 8
  • Rio Grande: 8
  • Moffat: 6
  • Ouray: 6
  • Grand: 5
  • Saguache: 5
  • Cheyenne: 5
  • Las Animas: 4
  • Costilla: 3
  • Hinsdale: 3
  • Lincoln: 3
  • Huerfano: 3
  • Mineral: 2
  • Custer: 2
  • Rio Blanco: 1
  • Conejos: 1
  • Gilpin: 1
  • San Juan: 1
  • Bent: 1
  • Unknown or pending: 153

COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus that first appeared in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most patients develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

RELATED: The specifics of each Colorado county's safer-at-home orders

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