Denver COVID-19       Data Summary

The following map shows COVID-19 death rates by Denver neighborhood based on completed cases investigations.&nbsp;COVID-19 can make anyone sick regardless of their race, ethnicity, neighborhood, or socio-economic status.&nbsp;

Overall demographic information for Denver County using 2018 census estimates is provided in orange to allow for the comparison to demographics of patients who have been hospitalized.&nbsp;This comparison helps Denver Public Health and other agencies assess trends and needs within our community.

Denver COVID-19 Data Summary

The issue of COVID’s impact on racial/ethnic minorities is critical, and we plan additional analyses looking at the associations between income, environment, and race/ethnicity on access to testing, rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalization, and death.

Denver Public Health, along with other health departments in the Denver-metro region, partner together to collect real-time data from healthcare systems about symptoms reported during hospital and urgent care visits. We can analyze this data to determine if healthcare visits from community members may be associated with COVID-19. This data allows public health agencies to quickly identify COVID-19 trends in the community, such as increases or decreases in the overall number of visits, identify clusters or outbreaks early before diagnoses are confirmed and reported to health departments, and to better understand the most commonly reported symptoms. Below you will find both a daily and weekly view of the number of emergency room and urgent care visits in Denver County that may be associated with COVID-19 illness.

Within the shift in demographics of COVID-19 cases in Denver, we have seen a notable increase over time in the proportion of cases who identify as Hispanic or Latino. The issue of COVID-19’s impact on racial/ethnic minorities is critical and analyzing data in this way can help us advocate for allocation of resources and outreach towards populations and communities with elevated needs.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s <a href="https://intake-app-dot-cdphe-erm.appspot.com/intake-form" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Community Symptom Tracker</a> enables Coloradoans to voluntarily self-report symptoms of COVID-19 regardless of their ability or need to get tested.

Although not all labs may participate in providing information about negative tests so we can calculate the proportions that are positive, the majority do which can give us confidence in interpreting these trends.

Investigations are ongoing and not always complete at the time of analysis, therefore there may be cases where race and ethnicity is unknown.&nbsp;

CDPHE provides data for Denver County residents to DPH to help us map and identify potential hotspots not captured by testing, as well as to understand the trends in symptoms being reported and to more quickly identify and follow-up with high risk reports.

Death data is based on information gathered from completed case investigations and reports from Denver's Office of the Medical Examiner, hospitals, and Colorado's Vital Statistics program. The number of deaths presented below may differ from the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Colorado due to pending case investigations.

Overall demographic information for Denver County using 2018 census estimates is provided in orange to allow for the comparison to demographics of Denver COVID-19 cases.&nbsp;This comparison helps Denver Public Health and other agencies assess trends and needs within our community.

The following maps show COVID-19 case rates by Denver neighborhood based on completed cases investigations.&nbsp;We can understand the overall spread of COVID-19 cases by examining case rates for the entire outbreak as a whole (Map 1) as well as what's been happening within the last week (Map 2). Both of these maps help us to better understand how COVID-19 is moving through and affecting our community.&nbsp;

Denver COVID-19 Case Summary- Hospitalizations

COVID-19 by Gender

Hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) data is based on completed case investigations, not all COVID-19 cases reported in Denver. Hospitalization and ICU data is recorded at the time of investigation and may not reflect changes once an investigation is complete.  Rates of hospitalization and ICU stays may be over-reported among COVID-19 cases due to people with milder illness not seeking healthcare or testing, as well as the prioritization to test hospitalized patients.

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COVID-19 By Race and Ethnicity

&nbsp;The issue of COVID’s impact on racial/ethnic minorities is critical, and we plan additional analyses looking at the associations between income, environment, and race/ethnicity on access to testing, rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalization, and death.

COVID-19 case reporting represents laboratory confirmed positive cases for residents living in Denver County, Colorado.&nbsp;Data may not reflect all Denver cases, as many are pending investigation by Denver Public Health epidemiologists.&nbsp;Information on this dashboard is updated daily by 6 pm and reflects the information as of the current date.&nbsp;

A Snapshot of the Current COVID-19 Epidemic in Denver<h2></h2>

Colorado Symptom Tracker Dashboard

Below you will find information about how the overall demographics of the COVID-19 epidemic in Denver have shifted, which aligns with a shift in exposures leading to infection. When COVID-19 cases were first reported in Denver in early March, a time when stay-at-home orders had not yet been enacted and there was still widespread travel, most cases were acquired through travel and/or exposure to a known case in specific settings (conference, health care workers). Over time as COVID-19 began spreading widely in the community, these exposures became a less likely source of exposure and more cases appeared among families and general contact with the community.

Recent data from the Metro Denver Partnership for Health has recommended an estimated 152 tests per 100,000 populations per day to better understand the true extend of COVID-19 spread in the community; this amounts to 1,091 tests per day in Denver County (or 7,637 tests per week).

There have not been enough deaths due to COVID-19 in Denver to make any conclusions related to the impact of race on risks of death. However, understanding the issue of COVID-19’s impact on racial/ethnic minorities is critical and a priority for our department. Colorado has racial disparities in certain chronic disease due to unequal access to health care and economic opportunities occurring over many generations. Because studies have shown people with underlying health conditions are more likely to die of the virus, we plan more analyses of the associations between income, environment, and race/ethnicity on access to testing, and rates of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death.

Denver Public Health and the Denver Department of Public Health &amp; Environment are evaluating multiple sources of data to examine trends in the COVID-19 epidemic in Denver. We recognize that there are various measures that serve as indicators or proxies of disease, ranging from more early signs (symptoms) and later presentations of the course of the disease (hospitalizations or deaths). While symptoms may be more proximate to signaling recent disease transmission (recent 2-14 days with ~5 days as the average) and any changes in hospitalizations and deaths as a result of community transmission would not be evident for 2-4 weeks following exposure to disease.

The following tables, graphs, and maps reflect data from<strong> completed</strong> case reports.&nbsp;This data does not include cases which have not yet been investigated, and therefore may differ from case totals shown above.

COVID-19 by Age Group

Overall demographic information for Denver County using 2018 census estimates is provided in orange to allow for the comparison to COVID-19 demographics of patients who have died.&nbsp;This comparison helps Denver Public Health and other agencies assess trends and needs within our community. Investigations are ongoing and not always complete at the time of analysis, therefore there may be cases where race and ethnicity is unknown.

The following map shows COVID-19 hospitalization rates by Denver neighborhood based on completed cases investigations.&nbsp;COVID-19 can make anyone sick regardless of their race, ethnicity, neighborhood, or socio-economic status.&nbsp;

The numbers and information on this page may differ from the <a href="https://covid19.colorado.gov/case-data" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment</a> due to differences in timing of reporting.&nbsp;There are also delays in data entry that limit our ability to know whether recently reported cases have been hospitalized.&nbsp;

Denver Public Health and <a href="https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/environmental-health/news/coronavirus-info/local-preparation---coordination.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Denver Department of Public Health &amp; Environment </a>investigate all confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Denver residents through interviews and medical record reviews. This data does not reflect information for cases currently under investigation.

Laboratory testing information is now available to show the approximate number of confirmatory tests (polymerase chain reaction or PCR testing) that are conducted in Denver County, including information about both negative and positive tests. As more laboratory testing becomes available in our community, it is important that we analyze the proportion of tests that are positive (positivity) so we do not imply that more disease is present because of an increase in testing.

These metrics are not meant to be interpreted for the precision of the actual numbers (aside from actual measured Denver cases, hospitalizations and deaths), but rather examine trends, inform public health actions and policies, and identify certain groups or communities that may be disproportionately affected.