Coronavirus cases in Denver are climbing, Mayor Michael Hancock said in a press conference Friday morning.

Cases are now rising daily – though “not dramatically,” as is occurring in states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas – and the city’s positivity rate is going up, too.

“We are going in the wrong direction,” Hancock told reporters, adding that he will resume providing regular updates on the pandemic.

Prior to June 24, when the mayor last gave an update on the virus, the COVID-19 positivity rate had been hovering at about 3%. That rate had risen to 4.5% just a week and a half later.

However, there are “a lot of nuances to that particular metric,” cautioned Bob McDonald, executive director of the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment. “A lot of it has to do with how much testing we’re doing. The more testing we do, the more likely it is that we’re going to pick up on asymptomatic cases.”

Much of what drives the positivity rate, McDonald explained, is who shows up to the Pepsi Center and other testing sites based on who the city is prioritizing depending on its stock of testing supplies. The Pepsi Center, the state’s largest drive-up testing site, recently limited its tests to 2,000 to prevent further delaying test results.

McDonald said that a 7% positivity rate would be cause for concern, but other metrics factor into that rate, including death and hospitalization rates.

“The good news is that our hospitalizations are still generally low,” Hancock reported. Levels remain “flat,” and hospital capacity is in “pretty good shape.”

Nevertheless, Hancock said, the city has updated its face mask requirement – which he stressed “has not been relaxed” – to “better align” with the new guidance Gov. Jared Polis announced Thursday.

Face masks are required when inside or waiting in line to enter any indoor or outdoor business or event. They’re required at health care operations, unless told otherwise by a health professional, and also in common areas of apartments and condos, such as lobbies, elevators and pool areas, unless exercising or swimming.

With the return of some live performances, which Hancock said was “a good thing,” performers must maintain 25 feet distance between patrons and at least 6 feet between each other. They won’t be required to wear masks while performing.

McDonald said the city will “ramp up” enforcement of face mask compliance and health department officials will issue summons as needed.

“It is unlawful not to wear a face covering,” he said.

The city is also in the process of identifying sanctioned outdoor areas, called “Safe Outdoor Spaces,” to establish two to three managed encampment areas, each holding up to 60 people, for those who are unhoused and prefer to camp outside rather than sleep in shelters.

“We have increased our outreach to encampments with a very strong focus on Morey Middle School,” said Britta Fisher, Denver’s chief housing officer.

City officials have estimated that roughly a hundred people have set up camp at that location, and the city is scrambling to relocate them before teachers return July 20 and school begins in August.

This week, nine people from the encampment have been relocated to the hotel and motel rooms the city has contracted, which now total more than 800, Fisher said.

Hancock said that if the city is unable to control the virus, he would have to make “some very difficult decisions,” including possibly shutting back down the economy, which he said would be “absolutely devastating.”

Avoid big groups, wash your hands, social distance and wear a face mask, Hancock urged.

“Simply, be smart.”

As of Thursday, the city has spent just over $50 million on COVID-19 relief efforts, according to a spokesman from Hancock’s office.