KEYSTONE \u2014 The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released new modeling data Monday, suggesting the state will see another peak of novel coronavirus cases in late summer that could be more intense than was experienced in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The state health department’s most recent modeling report<\/a> reflects data from May. According to the report, cases will start to rise again Aug. 15. The severity of the second peak depends on how people act in the coming months, the report noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n The state\u2019s data shows it\u2019s not enough to just wear a mask; social distancing is still required to keep case numbers below hospital capacity.<\/p>\n In the report’s worst-case scenario, people would be social distancing at 45% capacity, causing a severe impact on the state\u2019s hospital systems. Under that scenario, there would be more intensive care unit cases than the state can currently handle. If that percentage of social distancing is combined with few people wearing masks or face coverings, the state would expect see nearly 6,000 ICU patients, while Colorado has only 1,849 ICU beds, according to the report.<\/p>\n The modeling data\u2019s best-case scenario would involve 65% social distancing, while adults over the age of 60 and others at higher risk socially distance at a rate of 80%. <\/p>\n The state also outlined a scenario that involves more people wearing masks or face coverings to prevent the spread of the virus.\u00a0If 80% of people are wearing masks and everyone is socially distancing at 55%, the state won\u2019t see a peak that overwhelms hospital systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Summit County, public health officials are already preparing for the anticipated peak in cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe will and are anticipating having another surge of cases,\u201d Summit County Nurse Manager Sara Lopez said. \u201cContact tracing and surveillance is really a huge intervention that we are employing. Another thing with that is testing. Without testing, we don\u2019t get a really big picture of what\u2019s going on around the community.\u201d<\/p>\n