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Colorado coronavirus latest numbers, June 17

There are 29,673 cases of COVID-19 in Colorado, up from 29,442 the day prior. The number of hospitalizations is also up slightly.

COLORADO, USA — Colorado currently has 29,673 known cases of COVID-19 and 1,631 deaths among those who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

Data is released each day at 4 p.m. Numbers will be updated each day at that time.

A breakdown of this data and links to related stories can be found below.

>> Video above: The state of Colorado released guidance Tuesday that shows the risks of various activities when it comes to potentially contracting or spreading COVID-19.

What to know right now

  • 29,673 cases, up from 29,442 cases. 
  • 5,294 hospitalized, up from 5,272.
  • 1,631 deaths among those who tested positive for COVID-19, up from 1,617 the day prior
  • 1,402 deaths due to COVID-19, up from 1,373 the day prior. 
  • Get the latest data from CDPHE.
  • Polis said restaurants can reopen to in-person dining, with strict regulations in place. Day camps and youth sports camps could reopen June 1.
  • Polis extended the state's safer-at-home order to July 1.

> Updates from June 16 can be found here. 

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Coronavirus data breakdown

In Colorado as of June 16, CDPHE reports 29,673 people have tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. That's up from 29,442.

Positivity is the number of tests that come back with a COVID-19 result. Above 10% could be an indicator that not enough testing is being done and that only people likely to have COVID are getting tested.

Fatalities

CDPHE reports:

  • 1,631 deaths among people with COVID-19
  • 1,402 deaths due to COVID-19

The majority of deaths — 53% — are among people over age 80; 24% of deaths occurred in people between ages 70-79, and 13% 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.

On May 15, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shifted to a death documentation difference that divided into "deaths among cases" and "deaths due to COVID-19." Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist at CDPHE said on May 18 that deaths in the "among" category are from those that tested positive for COVID-19 either before or after death. This is done by medical workers on the front line. Deaths in the "due to" category lag and stem from death certificates that the Centers for Disease Control codes and then sends to CDPHE. On the CDPHE website, it explains the two categories should not be on the same timeline because of reporting differences. 

Hospitalizations

Of those who tested positive for the disease, a total of 5,294 hospitalizations have been reported, up from 5,272.

As of 4 p.m. on June 17, 164 patients were hospitalized with the disease, according to the most recent data from the Colorado Hospital Association. Within the last 24 hours, 18 patients have been transferred or discharged.

Note: 92% of facilities reported data on June 17.  

CDPHE said that there was a sizable spike in hospitalization data last Monday and Tuesday due to the completion of investigations of known cases, not due to new hospitalizations. The change is the result of a new process for investigations that matches and updates past hospitalization data to known cases. 

> Learn more about the spike here

This graph below 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.

Testing

According to CDPHE, 259,546 people have been tested, up from 254,020 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 depends 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.

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.

In addition, CDPHE on May 15 changed the way it was reporting data in two ways:

  • The number of deaths among people with COVID-19. This represents the total number of deaths reported among people who have COVID-19, but COVID-19 may not have been the cause of death listed on the death certificate. This information is required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is crucial for public health surveillance, as it provides more information about disease transmission and can help identify risk factors among all deaths across populations.
  • The number of deaths among people who died from COVID-19: This represents the total number of people whose death was attributed to COVID-19 as indicated on a death certificate. This number is determined by the CDC and is updated daily for dates through the previous Saturday.

> See the latest numbers from the state health department.

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.

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