New numbers from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment show a dramatic increase in people who have filed for assistance in the last few days as state and health officials shuttered businesses in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Numbers from the state Department of Labor show by 10 a.m. Tuesday, an additional 6,800 people had applied for assistance on top of thousands who already applied.

“This is just unprecedented, never before have we had just a high volume of impacted workers,” said Joe Barela, the Executive Director of CDLE.

On Monday, Gov. Jared Polis said bars and restaurants across the state will offer takeout and delivery only for 30 days and larger gathering places like theaters and casinos will close to combat the spread of COVID-19. 

That was on top of other recent closures that included dozens of school districts and all of the ski resorts in Colorado. 

The moves created a large spike in the number of filings for unemployment. Officials with CDLE said Tuesday afternoon that about 400 people filed claims last Monday compared to a week later when 3,900 people filed. By 10 a.m. Tuesday an additional 6,800 people had filed claims for unemployment in the state.

This story comes from our partners at 9News. Read more from their story here.