Pandemic Spreads-CDPHE Issues New Precautions

All six southeast Colorado counties are listed as those who are limited on gatherings under the “Safer at Home” status. This order affects 59 out of 64 in Colorado. People should not congregate in groups larger than ten and from no more than two separate households.

Most recent statistics indicate one third of the state’s ventilators are now in use for hospitalized COVID cases and the state has had just over 90,000 cases with almost 2,100 deaths attributed to the pandemic virus.

A statement from the CDPDE Executive Director, Jill Ryan, says people have been relaxing their precautions in social gatherings which is attributed to an increase in pandemic numbers over the past few weeks.

Prowers County has had two outbreaks in the past 14 days, prompting the cumulative numbers to climb from 98 to 144, due in part to an outbreak in a Lamar nursing home and in several schools in county communities.

The CDPHE urges Coloradans to continue to wear masks while in pubic settings, wash hands frequently and maintain a six foot separation, when possible, from others outside their household.