Colorado Coronavirus Update: 3,988 New Cases Reported

Between Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon, 3,988 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in Colorado, according to public health data.

“Right now, Coloradans are more likely to contract the virus than ever before," Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.

"Scientists estimate 1 in 41 Coloradans are contagious right now so if you have even 10 people at a gathering, you face nearly a 1 in 4 changes that someone will be contagious."

As of Monday, 232,905 people had been infected with the coronavirus in the state among 1,754,047 people who have been tested since the outbreak began, health officials confirmed. Around 13,488 people have been hospitalized, and the death toll has reached 2,656.

“We must listen to scientists and leaders like Dr. [Anthony] Fauci who recommend that you only socialize only with members of your immediate household, wear a mask, and stand six feet from others when you have to leave your home,” Polis said.

Around 48 percent of the state's critical care ventilators were in use as of Monday, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

If coronavirus rates continue at rates seen over the past few weeks, intensive care unit bed capacity will be exceeded in January, said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state's top epidemiologist.

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"On the current trajectory, we may experience 6,600 deaths by the end of the year — and more, if distancing is reduced over the holidays," the governor's office said in a news release.

"Colorado is also starting to approach nearly double the number of daily hospitalizations reported than we did in the Spring. More people in Colorado are hospitalized due to COVID-19 than ever before."

As of Monday, 31 percent of Colorado hospitals reported anticipating staff shortages over the next week. Around 14 percent of hospitals reported anticipating ICU bed shortages in the next week.

Polis on Monday issued an executive order that allows the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to prevent hospitals that have reached capacity from taking in new patients. The new order aims to help hospitals respond to climbing coronavirus case rates.

Under the order, when a hospital reaches capacity, it's required to notify the state agency, which can then order the hospital to stop taking new patients and transfer them to other area hospitals.

The order requires hospitals to stabilize any patients before they are transferred, officials said.

This article originally appeared on the Across Colorado Patch