Gov. Jared Polis gives update on COVID-19 response in Colorado, Oct. 6

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is giving a remote update on the state's response to COVID-19 Tuesday.

With the Holiday season right around the corner, state officials are worried about the current trend of COVID-19 cases in Colorado. State health centers are seeing a new influx of patients coming in. The governor warning the public that if this continues it could overwhelm hospitals.

"I Cannot emphasize enough the importance of the next few weeks," Polis says. "This will help determine how we get through the next few months until we can successfully administer a vaccine."

State epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy says how Coloradans act now leading up to Halloween will determine a lot of what comes next. "Disease levels in the next couple of weeks will really set us up for some success or some challenges potentially as we move toward the Thanksgiving and winter holidays," Herlihy says.

One huge red flag is the State's R-Naught number, the number of people who can get Coronavirus from just one person. Right now it's at 1.25 but Polis says that is unsustainable.

"You cannot be at that number for months at a time or you overwhelm your hospitals," Polis says. Which Dr. Herlihy says is starting to happen."Now we are seeing increase hospitalizations above and beyond what we estimated."

That increase not caused by 18 to 25-year-olds getting COVID-19 as we saw with massive outbreaks over the summer. The State reporting those cases have actually decreased. It's the rest of the population. A trend that could get worse, with upcoming holidays where family and friends gather.

Polis pleading with people to be smart and cautious for the next few weeks.

"We cannot continue this trend," Polis says. "We've got to do better to avoid overrunning our hospitals."

You can watch the entire press conference below: