Today, Governor Polis was joined by State Epidemiologist, Dr. Rachel Herlihy with the Department of Public Health and Environment, to unveil the state’s new enhanced online data tool. This website includes changes and improvements to data sharing on the state’s COVID-19 website.
Having the latest data is critical to our response to COVID-19 and the state wants to share that information with Coloradans with our new easier-to-use website, so that everyone can make smart decisions.
CDPHE’s new tool doubles down on the state’s commitment to transparency and empowering the public and our partners through access to accurate, up-to-date COVID-19 data and information. Colorado’s COVID-19 public data set is among the most robust, user-friendly, and transparent in the country.
Since the first positive test was confirmed in March, the agency has vastly increased the quantity and complexity of data that we are sharing with the public, and the data team has worked very hard to roll out this exciting improvement.
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Changes to the site include:
- Landing page with easy-to-use navigation to specific data sets.
- A variety of buttons for toggling through different variables and/or data points.
- Graphs with an informational button to click for definitions and an explanation of what the data is, where it came from, and/or what it means.
- A new data dashboard.
- Hospitalized patients’ demographic breakout, overall and over time.
- Outbreak data to better reflect which outbreaks are currently ongoing and which outbreaks have been resolved.
You can view the updated data site here.
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This morning, the Governor visited Village East Elementary School in the Cherry Creek School District, and toured a second grade classroom with educators, the union president, paraprofessionals, and the school principal -- as well as Superintendent, Dr. Scott Siegfried, Director of Tri-County Health, Dr. John Douglas, Commissioner of Education, Dr. Katy Anthes, and State Senators Jeff Bridges and Nancy Todd.
During the socially-distanced discussion, Village East Elementary students talked about how thrilled they were to be back with their friends and to meet their teachers, and teachers talked about the importance of getting to know their students in-person -- even if briefly -- in case of the need to shift to a remote learning environment in the future.
Superintendents in multiple districts began collecting feedback from teachers earlier this summer, and have continued to work closely with local public health partners to present metrics that guide schools reopening in-person, in a hybrid manner, or remotely.
Additionally, they worked together on reopening protocols, including mask wearing, cohorting, social distancing, and sanitization; and found common ground to move forward on implementation for several approaches.
While there is a general agreement that these protocols can lead to a safe reopening, there are no easy decisions -- and more than ever, it is important to foster collaboration in developing school reopening protocols.
The administration knows that there is a high degree of uncertainty about going back to school. It’s going to be hard for parents, administrators -- everyone. We want to empower everybody with the information they need to make the best risk assessment for yourselves and to protect others. No matter your role in the community, all of us can do our part this fall to ensure our kids’ safety and well-being.
Colorado Department of Education's reopening guidance can be viewed here.
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Reopening efforts begin with local leadership. Elected officials and public health officials should build the infrastructure needed to ensure that we can be successful and safe. This means communicating with residents about guidelines, and enforcing them.
Local businesses also play a part, and should follow and enforce guidelines for their customers, while providing flexibility for their workers -- and for those businesses that are able, maximizing work-from-home policies.
Whether you are a parent, business owner, or public health official, it all comes down to these three things we need to do to reduce community spread and keep our communities healthy:
- Wearing a mask;
- Practicing social distancing;
- And washing your hands.
School districts can work closely with their local public health officials to build strong reopening plans and implement public health guidelines. This includes making data-based decisions about when to go back to school. Some steps schools can take include:
- Enforcing mask wearing;
- Cohorting;
- Adhering to social distancing protocols;
- And reporting outbreaks and enforcing mandatory quarantines.
In addition, it is critical that our schools work closely with our educators to be flexible and provide accommodations for teachers and administrators that are in a high-risk category. When all of us take steps together, we can reduce transmission and make it easier for students and educators to go back to school safely and sooner.
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"LAST CALL" ORDER EXTENDED |
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Governor Polis announced today that the “Last Call” order will be extended 30 days, through September 21. Because our numbers have consistently gone in the right direction for the past few weeks, the hour for last call time will be pushed back from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The Governor and administration are committed to making decisions based on data and evidence. Colorado’s EPI curve has shown us that Coloradans are doing their part, and for the past few weeks, cases have gone down. As a result, we are modifying our policy, and will continue to evaluate any future steps based on the data and the evidence.
The data has shown that being outdoors is about 20 times safer than being indoors, and it has been encouraging to see Colorado cities and businesses stepping up to help make this transition as smooth and safe as possible. We hope that this is a trend that not only continues, but grows. Building upon outdoor dining in these coming winter months with other unique and creative experiences, will help our Colorado restaurants thrive, even in this difficult moment.
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The administration recognizes that some regions in our state have such limited transmission, that variances are warranted. That’s why we have begun accepting applications again, and we are starting our review of variances in areas with extremely low -- or no, transmission.
The top priority is to ensure that we are prepared for our kids to go back to schools, so the number of variances issued will be limited. The state will be granting two variances to counties that are in the green: Ouray and Hinsdale, and we will be very intentional about future variances accepted.
You can learn more about local orders and variances here.
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Historically, holiday weekends have led to an increase in cases, so we should all do our part to socially distance during Labor Day weekend this year. This is absolutely critical -- we cannot let Labor Day be a setback. If we all wear a mask, limit gatherings to 10 or fewer, maintain a distance of six feet between people, and take advantage of our vast, great outdoors, then our curve will continue to flatten.
If you are caught in the middle of a rainstorm, you don’t throw away your umbrella just because you’re not getting wet. We need to recognize that our good results are a direct result of our combined actions -- and by following the guidelines, we can weather the storm.
Let's keep up the great work, Colorado! The more COVID-19 prevention measures we take now, the more sustainable our lives can be in the future.
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