Medical professionals explain future of COVID-19 in Colorado
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Many Coloradans are headed back to work once Governor Jared Polis' stay-at-home order ends Sunday.
Colorado public health officials said Monday that even once the stay-at-home order is lifted, strict physical distancing measures and mask-wearing will be needed for months to avoid overwhelming the state’s ICU hospital beds.
KRDO reached out to medical professionals to see what they hypothesize will happen with the spread of the virus in Colorado over the next few months.
"Everyone in the country, everyone in the world is unfortunately part of an experiment," said Doctor Lee Newman, at the Colorado School of Public Health on the Anschutz campus in Aurora.
Newman told us he thinks the spread of the virus will likely get worse when the weather gets colder, and we might need to revert back to stricter precautions and government mandated restrictions.
"We're likely to have a double whammy. We’re going to be facing the flu season and the coronavirus continuing," he said.
Until then, I asked Dr. Newman how Coloradans should feel about being only the second state, after Wyoming, to stop its stay-at-home order.
"It's nerve wracking and it should make us all extremely nervous, and exercise a lot of caution," he said.