Coronavirus In Colorado: What To Know Tuesday, May 26

As of Monday afternoon, 24,269 people have been infected with the new coronavirus in Colorado among 153,683 people who have been tested since the outbreak began, health officials confirmed. Around 4,128 people have been hospitalized, and the death toll among people who tested positive for the coronavirus has reached 1,333.

Memorial Day took on new meaning this year — the pandemic changed how Americans honor fallen heroes. In our state, the Colorado National Guard flew over many communities to salute those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom and frontline workers who are supporting veterans during the pandemic.

Other recent developments in Colorado and around the United States:

• Restaurants in Colorado are allowed to open Wednesday with limited occupancy, Gov. Jared Polis announced Monday. Bars are required to remain closed. Restaurants will have to limit indoor dining to 50 percent of their maximum occupancy or 50 people, whichever is fewer. Eateries are also "encouraged to provide as much outdoor services as possible," health officials said. More than 375 restaurants in Denver have applied to expand their patio seating into nearby areas, including streets, sidewalks and parking lots.
• As of Monday evening, metro Denver counties — including Denver, Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson — have agreed to the statewide order and will allow restaurants to open Wednesday under the state's guidelines, which can be found here.

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• In June, the state will evaluate whether establishments that don't serve food can reopen.
• On Monday, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence attended the traditional Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery Monday before the president was scheduled to visit Baltimore's Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.
• Also on Monday, Former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden emerged in public for the first time in months to lay a white wreath at the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veteran's Memorial Park. Wearing a black mask, Biden joined his wife and a small group of veterans for the solemn tribute.
• More than 1,000 veterans have been killed by the coronavirus, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• In a moving tribute, The New York Times on Sunday dedicated its entire front page to listing the names of 1,000 of the dead, representing less than 1 percent of all those who have passed from the coronavirus.
• The president clearly had the campaign on his mind Monday, threatening in a tweet to pull the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, North Carolina unless Democrat Governor Roy Cooper could guarantee Republicans will be able to fully occupy the arena where the convention is scheduled to take place. "If not, we will be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site," the president said. "This is not something I want to do. Thank you, and I LOVE the people of North Carolina!"
• Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, gave out strong advice about people going to beaches and parks ahead of Monday's holiday: "So we really want to be clear all the time that social distancing is absolutely critical," said Birx, in an interview with ABC on Sunday. "And if you can't social distance and you're outside, you must wear a mask."
• Photos from this weekend have shown large crowds at beaches and parks across the country, including sizable crowds in Daytona Beach, Florida, and the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Still, many Americans remain cautious and have no plans to participate in public activities as the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States surpassed 97,500 on Sunday evening.
• The U.S. has restricted travel from Brazil, which has the largest outbreak of the virus in the world after the United States, with more than 347,000 infections and more than 22,000 deaths.
• As deaths related to the coronavirus continue to fall in New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday said two of the three state regions yet to begin to reopen could do so within a week— assuming metrics are met.
• The Board of Douglas County Commissioners announced that restaurants, gyms, places of worship and Park Meadows mall can reopen in limited capacities immediately. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment approved the county's request Friday to partially reopen.
• Fraudsters are targeting employees who are working from home, Jefferson County officials warned in a public notice issued Friday.
• The Boulder County Board of Health has approved the extension of the face covering order through June 30, officials announced Friday.
• Denver, Arapahoe and Weld counties consistently have the highest overall number of cases in Colorado; however, Morgan, Logan, Gunnison and Eagle counties consistently have the highest case rates per 100,000 people.

Patch Editor Gus Saltonstall contributed to this report.

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