Colorado's Top Health Officials Give Coronavirus Updates: Summary

Top officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment provided an update Wednesday on the spread of the coronavirus in our state, the latest scientific research and what Coloradans can expect in the near future.

The representatives included: Jill Hunsaker Ryan, the department's executive director; Dr. Rachel Herlihy, a state epidemiologist; and Scott Bookman, COVID-19 incident commander.

Here's a summary of what they said:

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• As of Wednesday, 44 counties have asked to loosen the safer-at-home restrictions, and 14 have been approved, Hunsaker Ryan said.
• Health officials estimate that around 167,000 Coloradans have already had COVID-19 — around 2.9 percent of the population. This shows that "we're just at the beginning of the epidemic," Hunsaker Ryan said.
• Coronavirus has a long incubation period — a median time of four or five days — and 50 percent of cases are asymptomatic. These factors are facilitating the spread of the virus, which is more contagious and more fatal than the flu, Hunsaker Ryan said.
• The long term consequences of the virus are still unclear, and are still being researched. No vaccines or treatments are available yet — only experimental products, she said.
• When the coronavirus first hit Colorado, the virus grew exponentially; however, its spread slowed significantly during the stay-at-home order, Hunsaker Ryan said. The number of hospitalizations declined during the order.
• It's not known whether people who test positive for the coronavirus have immunity or how long that immunity lasts. If herd immunity works, at least 67 percent of Coloradans would need to be infected with the virus, which would leave a huge death toll. If it's proven that immunity lasts, widespread antibody tests need to occur, Hunsaker Ryan said.
• COVID-19 is a retrovirus, which makes it more difficult to create a vaccine, she said. It will take at least a year for a vaccine to be developed.
• A true understanding of the latest data in Colorado won't be available until the end of May. That data can then be used to inform guidelines.
• Around 3,000 to 4,500 tests have been conducted per day in Colorado over the past few weeks, Bookman said. The state's goal is have 8,500 tests conducted per day by the end of May. There are around 41 community testing sites.
• This week, Colorado received 10 new workflow kits from the federal government. The shipment includes extraction and detection materials for 96,000 tests.
• The state is working to expand contact tracing by hiring new employees at Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and collaborating with Americorps, Herlihy said.
• Local public health agencies are leading most outbreak investigations; however the state supports those agencies with technical assistance, virtual and site visits, and other guidance.
• The state leads investigations that involve multiple jurisdictions or state facility outbreaks, Herlihy said.
• At the end of March, most outbreaks were occurring in senior and inpatient healthcare facilities, but by the end of April, the number of outbreaks at facilities was greatly reduced. As of Sunday, the majority of outbreaks in our state were occurring at retail and grocery stores, according to the latest data.
• Over the past few weeks, the highest rates of new COVID-19 cases have been found in Colorado's northeast region. The 'cumulative incidence rate' allows state health officials to understand which healthcare systems may be facing the highest burden.

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