Keep those masks on, Colorado health officials say, even as COVID picture improves: “We have a long way to come down”

Colorado public health officials continued to express “cautious optimism” Thursday at COVID-19’s downward trajectory in the state, but said transmission of the virus remains high enough that people should continue wearing masks indoors even as metro counties lift their mandates.

The state is emerging from its worst surge yet of new infections, one that outpaced the winter wave in 2020, and case rates remain at their highest level since that deadly phase a year ago.

“While things are moving in the right direction, (there’s) still a lot of COVID-19 that is circulating in our community right now,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist, during a news briefing.

The highly contagious omicron variant is spreading widely in the state and three cases of its subvariant — BA.2 — have been detected in Colorado, Herlihy said.

An estimated one in 19 Coloradans is infectious with the virus, according to the most recent report by the state’s modeling team. Deaths from the virus began increasing again in early January following a decline out of the delta variant’s surge.

But the good news is that cases are declining and so is the number of people hospitalized with the virus. On Thursday, 1,162 people are hospitalized, which is down from 1,195 patients the day before, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.