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Colorado lawmakers to tackle small business relief, child care, housing in special session
Lawmakers will meet Nov. 30 for a special session on relief for small businesses and individual Coloradans, which state leaders have said is necessitated by the urgency of pandemic-related needs ahead of their regular session in January. “Colorado families, restaurants, bars and small businesses can’t wait any longer for help — they need relief to […]
COVID-19 death toll expected to double in Colorado before January
If Colorado’s virus transmission stays on the current trajectory, the death toll from COVID-19 will more than double by the end of December, according to state epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy. Statewide, at least 408 people have died with the disease since Oct. 26, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In […]
LIVE: Gov. Polis gives briefing on COVID-19 at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 24
Gov. Jared Polis is scheduled to give a live update at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 24 on Colorado’s COVID-19 response. Scroll down for a livestream of the COVID-19 briefing, or watch on the governor’s Facebook page. The governor is expected to be joined during the briefing by state epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy. The Colorado Department of Public […]
El Paso County will move to red level, closing indoor dining and banning gatherings
El Paso County will move to the red level of Colorado’s COVID-19 dial system, according to a Nov. 23 statement from El Paso County Public Health. The state-imposed red-level restrictions — including a ban on indoor dining and events, and personal gatherings of any size — take effect in Colorado’s second most populated county at […]
Gov. Polis appoints new executive director to lead Department of Revenue
Gov. Jared Polis announced a new leader for the department tasked with collecting state tax revenue and regulating marijuana and gambling. Former state House Speaker Mark Ferrandino replaces Lu Córdova as executive director of the Department of Revenue, according to a Nov. 18 statement from the governor’s office. “We’re thrilled to have Mark lead the […]
Mesa County fills all ICU beds as Weld County hospitals near capacity
Mesa County Public Health announced that all intensive care beds in area hospitals were occupied as of Nov. 18, fulfilling Colorado public health officials’ worst fear since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic: that hospitals would become overwhelmed by coronavirus patients absent an ability to “flatten the curve” of new cases. “All area hospitals will […]
In national interview, Polis calls on Colorado school districts to resume in-person instruction
In an interview with Washington Post Live, Gov. Jared Polis said Colorado school districts and teachers should work together to resume in-person instruction. “The school districts that have been successful in returning to in-person instruction, many since the beginning of the year, have strong partnerships with their unions and their boards,” Polis said. “I would […]
Here’s a list of Colorado counties where gatherings and indoor events are banned
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a list of 15 counties that will be moving to the red level of the state’s dial system used to determine levels of COVID-19 restrictions for individual counties. At the same time, CDPHE eased some of the restrictions for counties in the red level and added […]
Gov. Polis calls for legislative special session on COVID-19 relief
Amid the worst era of the COVID-19 pandemic thus far for Colorado, state lawmakers will return to the Capitol for a special session on coronavirus relief, Gov. Jared Polis confirmed Nov. 17. Legislators “will be putting themselves at some risk to alleviate the needs of others” by meeting in person during this time, the governor […]
UCHealth researcher: Preliminary COVID-19 vaccine data is something to celebrate
Though several dark months remain ahead in the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials have called positive vaccine news a “light at the end of the tunnel” for the public health crisis. Preliminary data from Moderna, released by the pharmaceutical company on Nov. 16, showed its vaccine was 94% more effective than the placebo. That news follows […]
Colorado breaks another COVID-19 hospitalization record
Colorado on Nov. 11 reached another grim milestone: More people were hospitalized in the state with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 than at any point in the pandemic. The next day, the state broke the same record again. As of Nov. 12, 1,183 people were hospitalized with confirmed cases and 139 with suspected cases. The previous […]
‘A lot of uncertainties’ remain as Colorado lawmakers craft state budget
New members of Colorado’s powerful Joint Budget Committee met for the first time Nov. 11, marking the start to what’s sure to be an especially arduous and complex process: designing the state budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Sen. Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, will helm the JBC following the Nov. 6 election of the former […]