Boulder County Coronavirus Update: 515 Cases, Death Toll Up To 33

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — As of Monday afternoon, 515 people have been infected with the new coronavirus in Boulder County since the outbreak began, health officials confirmed. The death toll in the county has reached 33.

The data company SafeGraph posted a report that shows the percent of people staying home in each county, and the study shows that Boulder County is ranked No. 7 in the state for compliance.

Boulder County has extended its stay-at-home order through May 8.

The extension will help the county develop strategies and guidelines for preventing a surge of COVID-19 cases, health officials said.

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"We have increasing cases of COVID-19, insufficient access to testing, and too few case investigators to consider anything else than extending the current Stay-At-Home Order," Jeff Zayach, Boulder County Public Health executive director, said in a statement released April 24. "We want to avoid relaxing restrictions only to have to reimpose them if there's a new surge in cases."

The difference between the statewide stay-at-home order and Boulder County's order is the allowance of non-critical businesses to offer curbside delivery of products, health officials said. The pick up of the products is now included in the order as "necessary travel."

"We're in a no-win situation," Zayach said. "I know the livelihoods of many people have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. We hope that including the option for curbside delivery for non-critical businesses will help our communities start getting back on their feet."

The county issued the following list of 'necessary conditions' for the order to end:

• Transmission of the virus is controlled.
• Local hospitals are able to treat all patients needing hospitalization.
• Testing is available, and there is capacity to monitor those who have tested positive, as well as their close contacts.
• Outbreak risks are minimized in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes.
• Adequate preventive measures are in place in workplaces, businesses, and other essential places.
• Individuals and businesses have the information and guidance needed to adhere to requirements.

"This extra time will allow us to ramp up our epidemiology team to continue to conduct contact tracing, focus outreach and care on disproportionately impacted communities, receive additional personal protective equipment for our health care providers, and continue our progress on accessing testing," Zayach said.

"Without these elements in place, moving to the governor's Safer-at-Home phase in Boulder County would be extremely dangerous."

Health officials also issued the following goals for the county to achieve before May 9:

• Complete renovation of the St. Anthony's North facility to serve as a location for step-down care when COVID-19 patients who require continued acute care are discharged from the hospital.
• Prepare clear guidance for and with the business community to increase compliance and minimize confusion.
• Create clear guidance for residents to minimize confusion and increase compliance.
• Establish a compliance system for businesses to demonstrate their compliance with COVID-19 regulations.
• Ramp up outreach and guidance to disparately affected communities, including Hispanic/Latinx and older populations.
• Increase staffing for surveillance and monitoring of active cases of COVID-19.
• Receive additional testing supplies for Boulder County residents.
• Receive additional personal protective equipment, including surgical and N95 masks, for essential staff like health care workers and first responders.

According to government data posted Monday afternoon, 13,879 people were infected with the new coronavirus in Colorado among 66,341 people who have been tested since the outbreak began. There were 2,485 people hospitalized, and the death toll has reached 706.

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