Although COVID-19 case rates in Boulder County appear to be heading in a downward trend, local health officials urge caution, Boulder County Public Health spokesman Shawn Hollister said Wednesday.
"The decline may be the result of a backlog of cases yet to be recorded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. It is unknown when the blacklog will be cleared, but CDPHE is actively working to resolve the issue, Hollister said via email.
"BCPH strongly recommends that Boulder County residents take steps to protect themselves, including getting fully vaccinated (including a booster), keep wearing a well-fitted mask when indoors or in outdoors in crowds and staying home and getting tested if they ae feeling sick," Hollister said.
The number of Boulder County residents newly reported as testing positive for COVID-19 has dropped from earlier in the month, while the seven-day cumulative number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 has also dipped, according to the latest data posted by Boulder County Public Health. The total number people who have died from the virus in Boulder, to date, is at 339, up from 336 total deaths recorded Jan. 14, according to Boulder County Public Health.
The county’s positivity rate, meanwhile, is down to 21.9% from over 25% earlier this month, according to the data.
Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday that the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will offer KN95 and surgical grade masks for free this week at public libraries, fire stations, recreation centers, VFWs, YMCAs, and high traffic community centers that have agreed to be local redistribution points, according to a news release.
Masks will be available later this week and distribution sites are listed at covid19.colorado.gov/freemasks
The Louisville and Lyons public libraries are among the listed distribution sites. Nancy Kerr, director of the Longmont Public Library, said Wednesday via email she did not receive the initial e-mail to order masks, as her email address the state used was incorrect. Other libraries have also not received the initial email to order masks, Kerr said.
Of the libraries who did receive the initial email and ordered masks, only some have received the masks at this point, she said.
"We have placed an order for K95 masks to hand out but we do not have an ETA," Kerr said. "We always have the blue disposable masks available for patrons who come into the building without a mask and need at least a disposable mask."
The free distribution is part of an ongoing effort to provide high quality personal and protective equipment to Coloradans who are especially at risk during the pandemic and future public health emergencies, the news release states. Officials recommend people upgrade from cloth masks to medical grade-grade masks like KN95 or surgical masks, the news release states.
“We are on a mission to help Coloradans keep themselves safe, and free medical grade masks are far more effective in preventing infection than cloth masks,” Polis said in the news release.
“By making free medical grade masks available at libraries across our state and soon for home delivery, we are giving Coloradans a powerful tool to avoid infection,” Polis states.
