Colorado Gov. Jared Polis Gives Wednesday Coronavirus Update

DENVER, CO—Gov. Jared Polis provided Coloradans with an update Wednesday on the state’s efforts to combat the new coronavirus. To date, 17,830 people in the state have contracted the virus and 921 have died from it, both numbers an increase from the previous day.

“This is something that is going to be with us for many months to come, and while the last two months might seem like years in our lives, in the scheme of things it’s two months,” Gov. Polis said during the news conference.

Denver County continues to see the highest number of coronavirus cases as well as deaths. As of Wednesday, 3,674 people have contracted the virus and 195 others in the county have died from it. Arapahoe County has the second highest number of cases at 2,977. The latest numbers show 167 people have died from COVID-19 in that county. [To view the latest numbers for other counties, click here.]

“As of yesterday, the growth rate in cases is about two percent. As we do more and more testing, we’re reporting a higher and higher percentage of the total cases,” Gov. Polis said. “What’s important for folks to know is that the virus is still out there and will be out there, and we need to be smart and safe.”

According to the governor, the growth rate in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 stands at .3 percent.

“It’s still low, but compared to where we were a few weeks ago, that still means Coloradans are still being rushed to ICUs and hospitals,” the governor said.

When it comes to the number of people affected by the virus, Gov. Polis said the curve is bending; however, he said it’s up to Coloradans to continue making responsible choices to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

“If we slack off, it means more unnecessary deaths of our friends and our loved ones and more economic disruption,” Gov. Polis said. “The better job we do maintaining distance, cutting our interactions to a third of what they used to be, the more that we’ll get through this with the most possible number of lives intact.”

A nurse practitioner’s first-hand experience with the coronavirus

Wednesday marked the first day of National Nurses Week. During the news conference, Gov. Polis thanked health care workers for their efforts to help save the lives of people battling COVID-19. Laura Rosenthal, a long-time nurse practitioner and vice president of the Colorado Nurses Association, spoke about her experience working on the front lines to combat the coronavirus.

“COVID-19 is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 20 years of an experienced nurse. It is not an old people disease nor a sick people disease. Although these populations are more susceptible to COVID-19, it affects all people,” Rosenthal said during the news conference.

In the past six weeks, Rosenthal said she has treated patients as young as 25 and as old as 99.

“I treated a previously healthy 32-year-old male in the intensive care unit, struggling to breathe. Pregnant women, fathers of young children and entire families—all hospitalized and ill,” she said.

As she spoke, she pleaded with Coloradans to continue staying home as much as possible and follow the state’s safer-at-home implementation.

“Because things might seem likely they’re going in the right direction, we must not forget the intense fear that we’ve experienced over the past six weeks. As the weather warms, and we transition to the safer-at-home phase, now is the most crucial time for diligence,” she said. “Nurses are out there fighting to protect you, and please do your part.”

Update on the state’s acquired PPE supplies

During the news conference, Gov. Polis also provided an update on the state’s acquired personal protection equipment. To date, the governor said the state has been able to gather:

• 2,472,205 surgical masks
• 1,640,100 gloves
• 116,065 face shields
• 195,109 gowns
• 534,474 N95 masks

“There’s a lot of purchase orders pending, also requests from the federal government in there,” the governor said.

The governor said once the state receives the PPE, first responders receive approximately 39 percent of the items, hospitals receive about 23 percent and about 12 percent goes to senior care facilities. The remainder goes to in-home senior care services, clinics, hospital designees and emergency management and public health.

“We are still working as hard as we can to obtain additional masks, gloves and gowns for Colorado,” Gov. Polis said. “Thankfully, we’ve also been the recipient of some amazing innovation technology that has helped us ease the pressure on our mask needs.”

The governor said the state has received two Battelle sterilization systems from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to decontaminate thousands of N95 respirator masks daily.

“It’s extremely effective in making sure the virus is eliminated and those masks can be reused if necessary,” the governor said.

To watch the governor's Wednesday news conference in its entirety, see below:

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