Update: 7 p.m. with statement from the state department of public health on testing protocols.

After days of grim news reports, Gov. Jared Polis has some preliminary good news on the effects of some of the actions he’s taken to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Polis ordered dine-in restaurants and bars to close back on March 16, and at the same time limited gatherings to 250 people or less (that’s since come down to 10 people or less).

It takes about 12 to 15 days for the results of those efforts to show up, the governor said Friday. On Monday, in a news conference at the state emergency operations center in Centennial, he had the first results to those efforts: instead of the infections doubling every two days, he said, it’s now down to doubling every five days. The state should know in a week about the impact of the stay at home order and other efforts. “It’s still an extremely contagious virus,” Polis said. Just closing bars and restaurants was not enough. 

Polis also reported that traffic volume on Colorado roads and highways has dropped some 60% in the past month, which he called a “proxy” for changes in behavior due to workday commuting and reductions in weekend recreation. But the governor also encouraged people to stay at home and to recreate close to home, rather than driving into the mountains. He especially asked people to stay out of Eagle County, which has the highest transmission rates in the entire country. 

Polis also indicated that the protocols for testing those who suspect they’ve contracted COVID-19 have changed.

Three weeks ago, the governor said anyone with flu-like symptoms should be tested. In recent days, that’s led to complaints from people who believe they have been infected but yet have not been able to get tested.  

Polis said Monday that if you’re exhibiting flu-like symptoms, self-isolate and stay home. Testing is being reserved more for health care workers and those sick enough to be admitted to hospitals, which are overwhelmed as it is, he said. 

Late Monday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment clarified that protocol. In a statement, the CDPHE said there are two routes for testing: 

• Hospital staff, hospitalized patients, and vulnerable, symptomatic patients receiving care at health care facilities can get tested at those facilities.
• Critical health care workers and first responders who have symptoms can get tested at community testing sites being run by local public health agencies in various communities.

“Right now, due to limited supplies of testing kits and personal protective equipment, testing needs to be focused on the people who are the most at-risk from this disease and the people in charge of caring for and keeping the rest of us safe. It’s important to protect the most critical element of the health care system. We are working hard to get the supplies and capacity to move to broader public testing, but until then our message remains the same: if you have only mild symptoms, self-isolate and don’t wait for a test,” said Scott Bookman, CDPHE COVID-19 Incident Commander, in that Monday statement.

The state has distributed 4200 testing kits and PPE to local public health agencies in El Paso, Larimer and Mesa Counties. The counties will use these supplies to test healthcare workers and first responders across their regions. The CDPHE lab also sent 300 testing kits to the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. More testing kits will be provided to local public health agencies once those supplies are received from FEMA.

On Sunday, the CDPHE reported that the number of positive cases had reached 2,307, with 326 hospitalized and 47 deaths. The virus has now shown up in 46 of Colorado’s 64 counties. Denver has the most cases, more than 400; El Paso County has had the most deaths, at 11. As of mid-day Monday, the number of cases had climbed to 2,627, with 414 hospitalized and 51 deaths. About 15,364 people have been tested. 

At least 14 non-hospital health care settings also now have outbreaks, also as of Monday. That’s up from 10 from last week.

Last week, the governor asked the federal government to declare Colorado a disaster area, and on Saturday Polis received word from President Trump that the request, backed by most of the state’s congressional delegation, had been granted. It will free up additional emergency resources for Colorado, Polis said Monday, such as paying for National Guard and other disaster needs.

The state, however, is still short 9,000 to 10,000 ventilators, he said.

Over the next three weeks, the state will need more than one million surgical masks, more than 200,000 N95 masks, and more than 200,000 face shields, in addition to other personal protective equipment needs, Polis said. After that, he’s hopeful that national supplies. “We’d rather acquire too many than too little,” he said. 

Polis also said the state is now seeing cases of COVID-19 in younger people, those in their 30s, 40s and 50s. And over the weekend, two people in their 40s both died from the virus. 

Polis was joined at the news conference by Dr. Mark Moss, head of pulmonology at the University of Colorado Hospital, who said they are seeing more cases of people in their 40s and 50s, some as young as 19, and who don’t appear to have pre-existing medical conditions. 

“We’re only at the beginning of the crisis,” Moss said, noting that they have double the number of patients on ventilators and in intensive care. And those patients stay on ventilators for two weeks or more. New COVID-19 patients are being admitted faster than others are at recovering, he said, which puts more strain on hospital capacity and resources. 

They’re also dealing with health care providers who are now coming down with the virus, which hampers their response at the time those professionals are most needed. “We cannot care for patients if we’re not healthy ourselves,” Moss said.

“If you have symptoms, stay at home and assume you have it. Seek medical attention if it’s necessary,” Polis said. But only about 20% of those being tested are showing as positive for COVID-19, he added.