The COVID-19 hospitalizations in Colorado fell slightly on Wednesday, after two-day experts watched closely.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment reported that 380 people were admitted to the hospital Wednesday afternoon with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, compared to 388 on Tuesday.
Hospitalizations bounced between 320 and 350 in the previous week before jumping Monday and Tuesday.
It is not uncommon for numbers to fluctuate, and experts said it is too early to know whether the increase is a seesaw or a trend. This will become clearer as the week progresses.
New cases are lower than last week, but the test is still much lower than the levels seen in the days before the snowstorm, making it difficult to determine whether the decline shows fewer infections.
The number of COVID-19 outbreaks in Colorado has also declined, reaching the latter last in early November.
The state health department reported 622 active outbreaks as of Wednesday. An outbreak is two or more cases linked to the same place or event, and is considered active until four weeks have elapsed without any new cases.
Most institutions have remained stable or improved. Nursing homes and care facilities still made the biggest gains, as older outbreaks are over-explained and the large vaccination reduces the number of new ones.
Exceptions were pubs, K-12 schools, hotels, outpatient health care and restaurants. However, the increases were in the single digits, meaning it could be statistical noise.
The number of outbreaks is less than half of what it was in the worst week of December, but is still more than four times as high as in early September at the low point.