Coronavirus Update In Lakewood: 830 Cases Confirmed

LAKEWOOD, CO — As of Tuesday, 784 people have been infected with the new coronavirus in Lakewood since the outbreak began, health officials confirmed. Between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, 46 new cases were reported in Lakewood. There have been 2,090 cases and 147 deaths in Jefferson County.

Around 34 percent of Jeffco cases are in Lakewood, according to Jefferson County Public Health.

Number of Jeffco cases in surrounding municipalities, as of Tuesday:

• Arvada (Jeffco count only): 534 cases
• Westminster: 92 cases
• Golden: 201 cases
• Edgewater: 41 cases

Around 42 percent of the people who've been infected in the county likely contracted the virus in the community, but it remains unclear how they were infected, data show. Around 34 percent were infected by "known exposure to a COVID-19 case" — usually a family member, Jeffco public health officials said. Fewer than 2 percent of Jeffco cases were linked to recent travel, and around 24 percent of cases remain under investigation.

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Restaurants in Colorado are allowed to open Wednesday with limited occupancy, Gov. Jared Polis announced Monday. Bars are required to remain closed.

Jefferson, Denver, Adams and Arapahoe counties have agreed to the statewide order and will allow restaurants to open Wednesday under the state's guidelines, which can be found here.

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. If a restaurant can expand into the outdoors, they can operate at full capacity or even higher, Polis said.

"Coloradans value our diverse culinary scene and amazing restaurants, and I'm proud that our state is now providing science-based guidelines on how restaurants can open as safely as reasonably possible for their employees and customers," the governor said in a statement released Monday.

"Diners will have more space between tables and at many restaurants, more opportunities to eat outside. The safest thing anyone can do is stay home whenever possible, but for those who want to shop and dine we want to make sure it can be done as safely as possible."

In June, the state will evaluate whether establishments that don't serve food can reopen.

More than 375 restaurants in Denver have applied to expand their patio seating into nearby areas, including streets, sidewalks and parking lots.

Denver, Arapahoe and Weld counties consistently have the highest overall number of cases in the state; however, Morgan, Logan and Crowley counties consistently have the highest case rates per 100,000 people.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 24,565 people have been infected with the new coronavirus in Colorado among 157,036 people who have been tested since the outbreak began, health officials confirmed. Around 4,160 people have been hospitalized, and the death toll among people who tested positive for COVID-19 has reached 1,352.

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