Cases of COVID-19 have increased dramatically over the past week, likely caused by the presence of the Omicron variant, prompting a significant increase in demand for testing, according to a Boulder County Health Department news release. Long lines for testing will persistent throughout the holiday week.
Between Dec. 15 and Dec. 22, the number of tests administered increased by 332% at the Stazio community testing site in Boulder and 238% at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont, according to the news release.
Health officials urge residents seeking testing to plan ahead, exercise patience and expect delays.
"Positive cases of COVID-19 in Boulder County has risen nearly 160% in the past week. As a result, we have seen a huge uptick in demand for tests, creating long lines and significant wait times," said Chris Campbell, Boulder County Public Health Emergency Managment Coordinator, in the news release."Unfortunately, we expected extended wait times to continue throughout the holidays. We are aware of the delays and are working with our partners to remedy the situtation and ensure a positive experience at community testing sites."
Omicron cases grew in Boulder County to nine, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Surging cases of Omicron are causing hospital bed shortages throughout the United States, according to the Washington Post.
In Boulder County, the Delta variant continues to be the dominant strain with 1,107 cases reported, according to the CDPHE.
Data posted by Boulder County at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 27, shows that 38,349 people in Boulder County have COVID-19, while the number of deaths to date has climbed to 324 and the number of new cases per 100,000 people are just over 267.
The positivity rate — the prevalence of the virus in the population — has shot up to 9.9% from 4.8% from the same period last week, according to BCPH data.
Boulder has 35% of new cases per municipality for rhe week of Dec. 20, 2021 while Longmont has 25%. Lafayette, Louisville and Superior has 15% while other municipalities and unincorporated Boulder County has 24%., according to Boulder County data.
Correction: The wait times (not weight times) are expected to continue through the holidays.
