Mayor Hancock Provides Updates On Reopenings, COVID-19 Rates

DENVER, CO — Denver Mayor Michael Hancock provided an update Wednesday on the city's reopening process amid the spread of the coronavirus. After the Memorial Day weekend, the city saw an uptick in cases; however hospitalizations "continue to trend downward," the mayor said.

"If we were at a broncos game, we would be in the first quarter,” Hancock said. “We must as a city, as a state, continue to take this slow. If we start seeing numbers go up again … we won’t hesitate to call a time out. We are slowly, methodically opening back up.”

The mayor urged people to continue wearing masks and adhering to social distancing guidelines. He said masks will need to be worn "for the foreseeable future."

All Denver dog parks reopened Friday. Children's playgrounds have reopened, however playgrounds and other park equipment are not disinfected by park operations staff, officials said. Visitors are asked to use hand sanitizer when soap and water isn't available, wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Denver: Free Newsletters and Email Alerts | Facebook | Twitter

Cherry Creek Mall has reopened under public health guidelines, and gyms have also begun reopening at 50 percent capacity.

>> View more city reopenings here.

City health officials said hundreds of complaints about businesses have been received over the past few weeks, but Hancock noted there's "far more compliance than non-compliance."

The city continues to approve street closures to help local businesses expand to comply with social distancing rules.

Denver has also been trying to clean up homeless encampments that "have spiraled into acute public health threats," Hancock said. He noted that feces and needles have been found in some encampments and health officials are trying to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 and other diseases while helping those in need.

The city has obtained its coronavirus testing goal of 1,100 tests each day for two weeks, Hancock said. More than 2,200 calls have been made by contact tracers to investigate the spread of COVID-19.

Bob McDonald, executive director of Denver Public Health and Environment, said some other states "have eased up on restrictions too soon and seen a surge of cases."

More than 300 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Denver over the past week, government data shows.

McDonald said he's "hoping the next week levels off" in Denver.