Governor Polis COVID-19 Update April 10, 2020Quick Links to Stay Up to Date Top line Update There are two notable deaths that we mourn today: 21-year-old Cody Lyster who was a baseball player at Colorado Mesa University and 13-year-old Charlotte Figi who was a brave advocate for medical cannabis that passed away due to complications stemming from an illness that experts say was likely COVID-19. This virus affects everyone differently and we all need to take it seriously and protect ourselves. Four-Tier System Patient Management Last week, the Governor unveiled our four-tier system of hospitalization so that we can deliver the appropriate level of care to patients and make sure that our State can handle the coming surge. We thank our Hospitals for their flexibility in being creative with their space to have the ICU capacity we will need. Below is a summary of each tier:
Convention Center Field Hospital Construction Today, the Governor addressed the press from the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. The Convention Center is a Tier 3 facility. Work on this site began 48 hours ago and construction is ongoing. There are 300 people working on it right now and 400 will be working on it tomorrow. Most working on the convention center construction are Coloradans, and we thank the Army Corps of Engineers and all the civilian workers who are helping us to build this field hospital. This is Colorado leading the way! When complete, the convention center will be able to accommodate nearly 2,000 patients, going a long way to protecting our health care system by decompressing our hospitals. We expect this alternate care facility to be operational in late April. We are establishing a similar alternate care site in Loveland at the Ranch complex and are working with local authorities for additional sites throughout the state so we can ensure that we have the capacity to handle the coming surge of patients. It's important to remind people that these sites are designed to decompress and protect our hospitals and will only take patients who are transferred from the hospitals.
We hope that we will not need to use these facilities, but regardless we are taking appropriate steps to make sure we are well-prepared in the event that we need this additional capacity for non-critical and non-acute patients. Stay At Home CO Online Resources Earlier this week, the Governor unveiled a new website: stayathomeco.colorado.gov, which links to free resources that support Coloradans to stay at home, from wellness, to critical services, to education, to entertainment, and so much more. One business we would like to spotlight is Gaia, which is a local, Colorado-based company that is offering free yoga, fitness, meditation and healthy cooking classes for both kids and adults to enjoy together, safely at home on our StayAtHomeCO website. We want to provide as many resources as possible to the public, so we added a "Suggest a Resource" link. If you know of FREE resources that all Coloradans with an internet connection can access that promote a positive stay-at-home culture and if it fits with our page, we will add it! The webpage will get better the more Coloradans engage with it. Small Business Relief There have been issues with implementation of federal small business relief programs / availability of funds. Please call the OEDIT COVID hotline number for small businesses for assistance at 303.860.5881 or visit choosecolorado.com for more information. Relief for Renters The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), Division of Housing awarded more than $1.9 million of emergency assistance to 19 agencies to serve low income Coloradans in need of emergency rental and mortgage assistance due to economic hardship due to COVID-19. Two organizations will provide assistance to eligible Coloradans in all 64 counties: Salvation Army and Colorado Housing Connects. These emergency awards are expected to serve more than 2,200 Coloradans. For more information on accessing these funds, please call DOLA at 303-864-7810 or 303-864-7852. Additionally, the Division of Housing has developed an Eviction Resources Map that can be used, along with the 2-1-1 Help Center, to help renters avoid eviction. *UPDATE* - Colorado COVID Relief Fund We are proud to announce today that the Colorado COVID Relief Fund hit the $10 million dollar mark. This is just the beginning for this fund. In less than a month since the Governor announced the creation of the fund and only three weeks since the fund started accepting donations, we’ve raised $10,003,282. Many have given in small dollar donations totaling $1,137,782. We know there are still so many needs across our state and communities that need our help. In our first round of applications, for prevention and impact, we received over 1100 applications and will only be able to fund 17% in this round. As we continue to build this fund, our ask must be big. Today, the Colorado Health Foundation is announcing a $2 million match to launch us into this next phase. If you know of any foundations, businesses and individuals you know that can pitch in, our team is happy to connect with you or anyone you think can help. Reach out to [email protected] or [email protected] to learn how you can get involved. And if you know a community based organization in need of funding, please encourage them toapply here. |