Coronavirus In Colorado: What To Know Monday, May 4

According to government data posted Sunday afternoon, 16,635 people were infected with the new coronavirus in Colorado among 81,352 people who have been tested since the outbreak began. There were 2,799 people hospitalized, and the death toll has reached 842.

There's hope on the horizon this new week begins. States started the arduous process of reopening and a treatment for the new coronavirus has been approved.

Protests against stay-at-home orders continue in Colorado and across the nation. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, called the protests "devastatingly worrisome," as many at the rallies aren't wearing masks or following social distancing guidelines.

Other recent developments in Colorado and around the United States:

• Many states are loosening restrictions to help their economies; however, some of those states haven't met the federal guidelines for entering Phase 1 of reopening. Birx is urging older populations and everyone who has a pre-existing condition to stay at home.

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• Many health officials and leaders across the country have lamented the actions of Michigan protesters, some of whom were seen wearing swastikas and carrying nooses. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said those protesters are "not representative" of Michigan residents. President Trump said Whitmer should talk to the protesters and "give a little, and put out the fire."
• Experts say you should hold off on making any big plans this fall and winter because coronavirus likely won't be a thing of the past anytime soon. A second round of infections is "inevitable" come fall, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, brought on as Americans resume normal life and more states ease or lift their stay-at-home orders.
• Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said the coronavirus is "not going to stop" until it infects 60 to 70 percent of people. "The idea that this is going to be done soon defies microbiology," Osterholm told CNN.
• For a brief moment on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were able to agree on something— both said, "thanks, but no thanks," to the White House's offer to bring rapid testing to Capitol Hill. "Our country's testing capacities are continuing to scale up nationwide and Congress wants to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly," a joint statement from Pelosi and McConnell read, in part.
• On Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that the Senate would receive three rapid-results testing machines and 1,000 tests, a move that would hopefully prompt House members to return to Capitol Hill and ease anxieties for senators returning Monday. McConnell and Pelosi indicated that Congress will rely on the testing procedures outlined by the Office of the Attending Physician until "these speedier technologies become more widely available," Politico reported.
• U.S. regulators on Friday approved the emergency use of the experimental drug remdesivir, which has proved effective in fighting COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration gave the drug the go-ahead after preliminary results from a government-sponsored study showed that remdesivir, manufactured by California- based Gilead Sciences, shortened the time to recovery by 31 percent.
• Governors in several states — including Alabama, Maine, Tennessee and Texas — allowed stay-at-home orders to expire Thursday night, paving the way for certain businesses to reopen. Iowa, North Dakota and Wyoming are also among states easing their rules. As the U.S. death total topped 66,000 Saturday, only time will tell if these states were a little too eager. Texas took one of the most expansive actions on Friday, allowing retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to reopen and operate at 25 percent capacity.
• Several of the latest polls in our nation show that more than 80 percent of people believe the stay-at-home orders are worth it.
• A home health aid in New York is suing the U.S. Department of Education and department head, Betsy DeVos, for continuing to collect on her defaulted student loans during the coronavirus pandemic.
• A mask mandate has been issued in Denver, which will take effect Wednesday. The public health order requires people in certain public settings to wear face covers until further notice, Mayor Michael Hancock announced Friday.
• Rangers, ecologists and staff members with Boulder, Denver and Jefferson counties' open space agencies have seen plant damage and widened trails as many hikers step off the trails to adhere to social distancing rules, officials said.
• More than 38,000 Coloradans (38,367) applied for unemployment during the week ending April 25 as the new coronavirus continues to impact jobs across the country. Nationally, 3.8 million Americans filed for unemployment, a slight decrease from the prior week, the latest figures from the Department of Labor show.
• A decline in Colorado business filings reflects the economic fallout caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, according to The Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report published Thursday.
• The reported coronavirus deaths in Colorado and other states could be much lower than the actual number, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Patch Editor Megan VerHelst contributed to this report.

Read more:

• Colorado Residents: Check Your Stimulus Payment Status
• Coronavirus Meal Finder Map: Hungry Kids Can Eat Free In Colorado
• Support Resources For Small Businesses In Colorado
• Coronavirus: Health Care For Uninsured In Colorado