DENVER – Colorado’s health department said it was sending COVID-19 testing kits Monday to another mountain community as it works to learn the extent of the spread of the coronavirus in the state.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said the kits would be used for a drive-through testing site operated by the Colorado National Guard in Montrose County. It will serve about 100 high-risk patients who have been pre-selected by doctors for testing.
The National Guard unit has tested more than 800 people in Denver, Telluride, Pueblo and Salida since March 11, the department said.
In Colorado, 591 coronavirus cases have been confirmed through testing. However, Gov. Jared Polis estimated Sunday that the number of cases is actually in the thousands.
At least six people have died in the outbreak in Colorado. On Sunday, health officials in Weld County reported the second COVID-19 related death there, a woman in her 70s who died Saturday.
It was not immediately clear if that death was included in the latest state count.
In other developments related to the coronavirus:
The state said it is shipping equipment from the federal government’s strategic stockpile to communities around the state, including 49,200 N95 masks, 115,000 surgical masks, 21,420 surgical gowns, 21,800 face shields and 84 coveralls. However the state health department estimated that would only be enough to supply health care workers for about a day.Denver’s National Jewish Hospital, which specializes in treating respiratory diseases, said it was setting up a separate clinic on its campus to help treat those infected by the coronavirus as a way to relieve pressure on emergency rooms. Coronavirus patients would be kept away from other people.
