COVID Update: Most Daily Hospitalizations Since January

The COVID-19 statistics shared by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on August 16 included some bad news: 144 people with the coronavirus were admitted to a medical facility in the state — the most on a single day since 154 back on January 26.

This stat doesn't mean that Colorado has lost every gain it's made in the fight against the disease over the past seven months — but it confirms the seriousness of the current situation.

Here are the latest numbers in major categories from the state health department, updated after 4 p.m. August 16. They're juxtaposed with information from our most recent COVID-19 roundup, which tracked figures from August 9.

592,372 cases (up 7,910 from August 9)
19,305 variants of concern (up 790 from August 9)
2,612 variants under investigation (up 16 from August 9)
33,773 hospitalized (up 483 from August 9)
64 counties (unchanged since August 9)
7,041 deaths among cases (up 43 from August 9)
7,292 deaths due to COVID-19 (up 30 from August 9)
5,651 outbreaks (up 28 from August 9)

Four major takeaways:

• The 7,910 new cases since August 9 represent an increase of nearly 800, or about 10 percent, over the previous week's bump.

• New hospitalizations skyrocketed. The 483 for the week ending August 16 show a steady progression from the 331 during the week ending August 2 and the 372 in the week ending August 9.

• New variants-of-concern infections, including the more transmissible and dangerous Delta variant, dipped a bit, from a 902 upswing on August 9 to 790 on August 16.

• Some good news: Deaths fell from 49 on August 9 to 30 on August 16.

Both the daily COVID-19 positivity rate and the seven-day average are over the 5 percent threshold considered a warning sign by health officials — 5.72 percent and 5.75 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, cases continue to rise. From July 6 to July 15, daily counts ranged from 257 to 503. But for the ten days between August 6 and August 15, the lowest daily count was 583; five days registered more than 1,000, with the 1,611 new cases reported on August 11 the highest single-day count since 1,978, on May 12. Here are the disappointing details:

August 15 — 583 Cases
August 14 — 663 Cases
August 13 — 1,229 Cases
August 12 — 1,085 Cases
August 11 — 1,611 Cases
August 10 — 1,263 Cases
August 9 — 804 Cases
August 8 — 654 Cases
August 7 — 894 Cases
August 6 — 1,090 Cases

Daily hospital admissions consistently registered in the thirties during the first half of July. But by the end of the ten-day period ending August 16, the seven-day average was up to 90 — paced by the 144 new admissions on August 16. And the total of 632 people hospitalized statewide for COVID that day was the highest number since the 681 on May 12. Here's the rundown.

New Hospital Admissions by Admission Date

August 16, 2021
144 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
90 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 15, 2021
87 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
85 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 14, 2021
68 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
77 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 13, 2021
84 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
72 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 12, 2021
85 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
74 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 11, 2021
63 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
71 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 10, 2021
102 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
70 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 9, 2021
109 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
70 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 8, 2021
28 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
66 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

August 7, 2021
34 Patients Admitted to the Hospital
64 Seven-Day Average of Patients Admitted to the Hospital

Patients Currently Hospitalized for COVID-19

August 16, 2021
632 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
566 (90 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
66 (10 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 15, 2021
583 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
519 (89 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
64 (11 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 14, 2021
573 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
508 (89 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
65 (11 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 13, 2021
582 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
520 (89 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
62 (11 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 12, 2021
574 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
514 (90 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
60 (10 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 11, 2021
561 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
501 (89 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
60 (11 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 10, 2021
564 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
494 (88 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
70 (12 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 9, 2021
540 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
478 (89 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
62 (11 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 8, 2021
485 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
428 (88 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
57 (12 percent) Persons Under Investigation

August 7, 2021
477 Total COVID Patients (Confirmed & Suspected/PUI)
422 (88 percent) Confirmed COVID-19
55 (12 percent) Persons Under Investigation

The recent improvement in vaccinations, credited in many quarters to $100 Walmart gift card bonuses for rolling up a sleeve, has mostly vanished. For the week ending August 9, the number of fully immunized Coloradans jumped by 119,184, while those who'd gotten a first dose shot up 150,314. This week, those figures fell to 32,127 and 42,388, respectively, and the rest of the figures from the state's vaccine data dashboard are similarly uninspiring:

3,247,013 people fully immunized in Colorado (up 32,127 from August 9)
3,566,882 people immunized with at least one dose (up 42,388 from August 9)
1,465 people vaccinated on August 16 with Pfizer vaccine (down 45 from August 2); 3,745 immunizations with Pfizer vaccine reported August 16 but administered on an earlier date (up 819 from August 9)
563 people immunized on August 16 with Moderna vaccine (up 133 from August 9); 1,384 immunizations with Moderna vaccine reported August 16 but administered on an earlier date (up 459 from August 9)
46 people vaccinated on August 16 with Janssen (J&J) vaccine (down 3 from August 9); 166 immunizations with Janssen vaccine reported August 9 but administered on an earlier date (down 34 from August 9)

Colorado isn't back to square one regarding COVID-19 — but you can see it from here.