COLORADO, USA — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on Wednesday said it will release information about confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care and other facilities every week.
"This is a change aimed at promoting transparency, protecting the public, and providing more insight into the extent of COVID-19 outbreaks statewide," the department said in a news release.
The news comes after an outbreak shut down JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, and an uptick in cases at several nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
A confirmed outbreak means there are two or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a facility or non-household group with onset in a 14-day period, CDPHE said.
The information will be available on the state’s website at covid19.colorado.gov/outbreak-data and will be updated every Wednesday by the end of the day, CDPHE said.
Facilities included in the outbreak report will include:
Health care settings: Including long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, independent living facilities/senior communities that offer health care, inpatient rehab facilities, and long-term acute care hospitals.
There are currently 231 nursing facilities, 706 assisted living facilities and 21 intermediate care facilities in Colorado, the department said.
Correctional settings: Including state prisons, county and city jails, community corrections, detention settings and work release facilities.
Other settings: This could include factories, workplaces with crowded work conditions, camps, schools, child care centers, and independent living facilities/senior communities that do not offer health care.
Each Wednesday, CDPHE will report the following detailed outbreak data:
- Facility name
- Facility type
- Date the outbreak was confirmed
- Total reported cases (confirmed and probable)
- Total reported deaths (confirmed and probable)
Data released April 15
Facility staff:
Facility residents:
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