DENVER — “The newest statistic is one out of 41 Coloradans are contagious right now.” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Colorado is at “a height of infection” with COVID-19. It is pushing hospitals to the limit. Colorado Springs hospitals have only 14 ICU beds available, Pueblo has five, and Denver has 25.
Thanksgiving is just days away and Polis is again asking everyone to celebrate the holiday with just the people in their immediate household. “This is a time to be very cautious.”
Polis is also talking about a vaccine coming to Colorado in the near future. "There is hope on the horizon,” Polis said. “We are just weeks away from the first vaccine dosages. Colorado is among the first states to get the vaccine."
The governor tempers the news by pointing out this is not a quick fix. "There are two shots. It is likely the first shot confers some immunity, but then 30 days later there's another shot, then two weeks after that. So that's a 45-day process."
The first immunizations go to essential workers. It will likely be two to three more months before doses start going to the general public. The governor also announced plans in the works to get Colorado kids back to classrooms full-time.
"We cannot let the future of our kids become yet another casualty of the pandemic." He says data shows schools are doing a good job managing the environment and it can be safe sending kids to schools. "Get kids back to in-person learning in January for next semester to have a minimum of interruptions.”
A task force has been appointed to put together protocols and a back to classrooms plan.
