Coronavirus Coverage

COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising across much of the Mountain West and nation. This trend mirrors patterns from previous years, but healthcare experts say the U.S. is well-equipped to handle another surge in infections and emergency room visits.

There were 64 people hospitalized with COVID in Colorado as of Wednesday, June 14.

We checked in with some top doctors in Colorado who’ve dealt with the virus first-hand over the last three years.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says the phone functionality will be decommissioned Thursday.

Glacier National Park has re-instituted a mask mandate inside federal buildings, like visitor centers. Officials there say they’re following National Park Service and Interior Department guidance. That is, when the CDC reports a high level of COVID-19 community spread around a park, officials re-institute an indoor mask mandate. Other national parks could bring back mask requirements, too, if rates increase around the West.

State-run psychiatric hospitals have dozens of people coming in and then leaving days, weeks or months later. Surprisingly, most of these facilities in the Mountain West reported having far fewer COVID outbreaks and deaths than other group facilities.

COVID-19 cases are increasing in most of the country, but it’s hard to say how much. That's due to at-home tests and vaccines, which mean fewer people need to go to a doctor for a diagnoses or aid. These are good signs, but they also make it hard to track the virus, which can be stressful for people who are immunocompromised or can’t get the vaccine.

Driven by a pair of super-transmissible omicron sub variants, more people are catching COVID-19, and key coronavirus trends are heading in the wrong direction in Colorado. But immunity from vaccinations and previous infections will help the state weather the wave.

State officials are trying to understand how the emergence of a new variant — omicron BA.2.12.1 — will impact the trajectory of infections.