Colorado has hit another dire COVID-19 milestone, surpassing 4,000 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday.

Along with grim news was a glimmer of hope as cases and hospitalizations decline or stabilize: the number of expected deaths from the disease was lowered by hundreds and possibly thousands, state officials said.

As of Wednesday, 4,156 Coloradans have died from COVID-19, with 3,230 deaths directly attributable to the virus, according to state data.

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The state’s seven-day average of new cases recently dove and appears to be plateauing, and hospitalizations “seem to be coming down.” But deaths “continue to remain high,” as they often lag successes in controlling virus transmission, said Dr. Eric France, the state health department’s chief medical officer, at a Wednesday press conference.

It may be a week or so before deaths begin to decline, he added.

However, the state is now likely to see 5,000-6,000 COVID deaths before the end of the year – down from the nearly 6,000 to more than 7,000 deaths predicted by the state’s COVID modeling group early this month, France said.

Colorado has apparently avoided the feared Thanksgiving coronavirus surge

Projections at the time topped 7,500 in the worst-case scenario, which involved a general decline in Coloradans’ adherence to precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, and a possible surge from Thanksgiving get-togethers.

Coloradans were more COVID-cautious than residents of many states over the Thanksgiving holiday, Gov. Jared Polis said recently.