The San Luis Valley and parts of the Eastern Plains and high country have joined the Denver area and the Western Slope at the high COVID-19 risk level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Friday morning, 24 Colorado counties were considered high risk: Adams, Alamosa, Arapahoe, Bent, Boulder, Broomfield, Chaffee, Conejos, Crowley, Denver, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, La Plata, Lake, Larimer, Mesa, Mineral, Otero, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, San Juan and Sedgwick.
Counties at the high level have at least 200 cases for every 100,000 people over the last week and at least one metric suggesting hospitals could become strained. That means the counties had 10 new hospital admissions for COVID-19 for every 100,000 people, or 10% of their hospital beds are being used by patients with the virus.
The CDC recommends that wearing masks in indoor public spaces in counties at the high level.
