Coronavirus is again surging in Colorado’s Front Range, if toilets are a telltale, potentially signaling a post-holiday increase in cases.

Wastewater in large swaths of the Denver metro area, Boulder, northern Colorado Springs and Pueblo West is showing an increase in levels of the virus, shed by infected individuals in stool, according to data released by the state. Levels in those areas are up from all-time lows, or near all-time lows, in December. In the case of Pueblo West and Loveland, the increase is so dramatic that the jump between the two latest data points is nearly vertical.

Wastewater data mirrors rates of confirmed positive cases throughout the state, which are headed upward yet again. On Monday the state reported 3,246 new cases, up from 1,980 cases the day before. As of Tuesday, the state’s seven-day new diagnoses graph showed a rise in cases rather than the “high plateau” previously cited by state officials.

The percent of tests found to her positive was climbing Tuesday as well, with about 8% of COVID tests in the state returning positive, up from a holiday-season low of 6% in late December. The World Health Organization has recommended a rate of no higher than 5% in communities wishing to reopen.

“Case counts and test positivity have both been on the rise over the last week, raising concern about a holiday-related rise,” Dr. Jon Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, told The Gazette on Tuesday. 

If B.1.1.7 – the new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 recently discovered in Europe – is circulating widely within the state, “perhaps it could be contributing as well,” to the increases, Samet said.

State officials on Tuesday said the state still had only one case of the variant but did not comment on how many potential cases it was investigating.

Last week state officials announced the United States’ first confirmed case of the variant and a second potential case were members of the Colorado National Guard deployed to a nursing home in Simla to assist with staffing in the wake of a COVID-19 outbreak. The confirmed positive case is a man in his 20s with no travel history or close contacts, state officials said.

Despite the increase in positive cases, 33 Colorado counties on Monday transitioned from “red” on the state’s COVID warning dial to “orange” at the behest of Gov. Jared Polis. His request to health officials came just hours after the announcement that the new variant had been identified in the state. The change allows indoor dining again at restaurants and increased gym capacity, but in a limited fashion.

In other Colorado COVID news:

– State officials sent a letter to Phase 1 vaccine providers Tuesday with additional guidance on whom to vaccinate with the available supply. Local public health agencies should prioritize any outstanding health care workers from Phase 1A, and moderate risk health care workers and first responders from Phase 1B, according to a news release about the letter. Staff and residents at long-term care facilities will be vaccinated through a federal program. All other Phase 1 providers such as hospitals and health systems should focus on vaccinating people 70 and older, who were added to the Phase 1B category by the state last week, according to the release.

– The state anticipates finishing vaccinations for Phase 1A health care workers in mid-January. Vaccines received from mid-January through late February will be allocated for moderate-risk health care workers, first responders and adults older than 70. Once these groups have been vaccinated, “frontline essential workers” such as teachers will be able to receive the vaccine, likely in late February, according to the release.

– State health officials updated the COVID-19 vaccination data dashboard Tuesday with additional data, including the number of vaccine providers that have administered the vaccine and the vaccines administered listed by manufacturer, according to another news release sent by the state Tuesday.

– The state’s health department added nearly 2,500 hospitalizations to the data dashboard Tuesday as a result of updates to Cenutra Health’s reporting system and data added over the weekend. Centura’s previously unreported hospitalizations didn’t make it into the state’s surveillance system because of “some hospital coding issues, which have been fixed,” according to a third Tuesday news release from the state. Some of the hospitalizations date as far back as April. The update may impact some counties’ metrics on the state’s COVID warning dial, but counties assigned to “orange” on Monday will remain in that category, the release stated.

– University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano and his daughter tested positive for COVID-19, the university announced Tuesday. DiStefano, who is experiencing mild symptoms, is isolating at home and will reduce his work schedule to focus on his health, according to a university news release. “I went with my family to participate in the campus monitoring program and am grateful we did,” DiStefano said in the release.