Health Department: Keep Social Distancing To Protect Older Coloradans

(CBS4) -- Colorado's health department says we are meeting the goals for social distancing during the "Safer at Home" phase -- and reaffirmed that it is crucial to keep doing it to protect older residents.

The health department says 90% of the coronavirus deaths in Colorado are older residents.

The health department says older Coloradans should stay home when possible and continue social distancing when out in public.

As of Tuesday, there have been 1,114 deaths directly linked to the coronavirus reported in Colorado.

The number of patients in the hospital has dropped to 367.

RELATED: Colorado Coronavirus Hospitalizations Dip Below 400 For First Time Since March

More than 24,500 people have tested positive for COVID-19 or its antibodies, but health department officials estimate that 170,000 Coloradans have had the virus.  That's 2.9% of the state's population.
And in a population of 5.8 million people,that really still indicates that we're at the beginning of this epidemic."

Colorado is testing 4,000-5,000 people per day. While that figure is below state goals, Gov. Jared Polis suggests it's because people are not seeking testing -- possibly because they're not symptomatic.

LINK: CDPHE Hospital Data