Colorado’s COVID-19 hospitalizations fell slightly on Wednesday after two days of increases, with experts watching closely.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported that 380 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 on Wednesday afternoon, down from 388 on Tuesday.
Hospitalizations jumped between 320 and 350 in the previous week, before skipping Monday and Tuesday.
It is not uncommon for the numbers to fluctuate, and experts say it is too early to know whether the increase represented a peak or a trend. This will become clearer as the week progresses.
New cases are lower than last week, but tests are still well below the levels seen in the days before the snowstorm, making it difficult to say whether the reduction actually reflects less infections.
The number of COVID-19 outbreaks in Colorado has also dropped, reaching the lowest level seen in early November.
The state health department reported 622 active outbreaks on Wednesday. An outbreak consists of two or more cases linked to the same place or event and is considered active for up to four weeks without any new cases.
Most settings remained stable or improved. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities continued to show the greatest gains, as older outbreaks are declared closed and widespread vaccination reduces the number of new ones.
The exceptions were bars, K-12 schools, hotels, outpatient care and restaurants. The increases occurred in the single digits, which means that they could be statistical noise.
The number of outbreaks is less than half that in the worst week in December, but it is still more than four times what it was at its lowest point in early September.