{"id":35177,"date":"2020-10-15T11:37:36","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T17:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=35177"},"modified":"2024-05-13T09:35:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T15:35:21","slug":"covid-19-surge-prompts-strong-warnings-from-health-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/covid-19-surge-prompts-strong-warnings-from-health-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 surge prompts strong warnings from health experts: Change behavior now to help drive down infections"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"UCHealth
Lauren Bomke, an EMT with UCHealth, tests a person for COVID-19 at the UCHealth Laboratory – Harmony Campus drive-thru testing site recently. Drive-thru testing sites are experiencing the COVID-19 surge with more consistent traffic. Photo by Joel Blocker, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A COVID-19 surge has Colorado doctors and leaders deeply concerned about a tough fall and winter, but Coloradans can drive down coronavirus infections if they act immediately.<\/p>\n

Colorado is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 infections that the governor and public health experts attribute to reopenings at colleges and schools along with relaxed behavior over the Labor Day weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get this under control,\u201d Gov. Jared Polis said recently. \u201cIf this continues, our hospital capacity will be in jeopardy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first coronavirus wave washed over Colorado in the spring. A second wave hit soon after the Fourth of July, and state officials and hospital managers are seeing a third wave now. The number of new confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections throughout Colorado in October have tied record daily tallies set in the spring. The new spikes prompted a dramatic new mask order in Denver<\/a>. People in Colorado’s largest city must wear masks whenever they are outside, unless they are alone or with a family member. And no more than five people may gather at a time now, down from a previous cap of 10 people.<\/p>\n

Public health experts estimate that when the pandemic first hit the U.S., as many as 4,500 people a day might have had COVID-19 in Colorado in March and April. But, there weren\u2019t enough tests to detect all of the people who likely suffered from COVID-19. Over the past several days, about 1,000 people per day have been testing positive.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 surge causes hospitalizations to climb again<\/h3>\n

Hospitalizations are climbing as well. During the spring, on the worst days, nearly 1,300 people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 had to be cared for in hospitals. The number of patients with confirmed or possible COVID-19 infections as of mid-October now is about 465 throughout Colorado<\/a> and about 115 at UCHealth\u2019s 12 hospitals. In the spring, at the peak of the wave then, providers at UCHealth hospitals were caring for as many as 263 patients at once who had either confirmed or possible cases of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\"Chart
A third wave of COVID-19 infections is leading to increased hospitalizations in Colorado. This chart shows a daily tally of patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections at UCHealth’s 12 hospitals from March through mid-October. Source: UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Testing results across Colorado<\/a> also are showing an increase in infections. Public health experts worry that COVID-19 is spreading widely in the community when more than 5% of people who are tested get positive results. In parts of Colorado, the positivity rates have climbed over 5%. The same has been true at UCHealth testing sites around the state. Altogether, since COVID-19 cases first were detected in the spring, UCHealth has provided more than 250,000 COVID-19 PCR tests. These are the nasal swab tests, also known as polymerase chain reaction tests. Lab managers have recently found that positivity rates among those tested by UCHealth now have risen over 5%. (Click here<\/a> for information on COVID-19 testing through UCHealth and please click here<\/a> to find community testing locations throughout Colorado.)<\/p>\n

\"Testing
A health worker at UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies tests a patient for COVID-19 at a drive-through testing site. Photo by Robert Allen for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Medical experts say it\u2019s critical for Coloradans to once again adopt all the behaviors that will drive those numbers down. Otherwise, as flu season collides with an increase in COVID-19 cases, some hospitals may struggle to provide care to all the critically ill patients who need it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what keeps me up at night: the fear of us having to use the Convention Center or tents in parking lots to care for patients,\u201d said Dr. Michelle Barron<\/a>, one of the top infectious disease experts in Colorado<\/a> and a chief architect of UCHealth\u2019s response to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Pandemic fatigue may be prompting a surge in Colorado COVID-19 infections<\/h3>\n

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UCHealth\u2019s response to the COVID-19 pandemic<\/h3>\n

As of mid-October, UCHealth experts have:<\/h3>\n