Massive COVID Outbreak at Colorado State Fair

PUEBLO --The latest report on COVID-19 outbreaks from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment includes a big one. According to the CDPHE's October 20 survey, 91 cases have been traced to the Colorado State Fair, which ran from August 26 to September 5 in Pueblo. The outbreak, which was officially recognized on October 19, is much larger than the spreads at a series of concerts, rodeos and other events over the summer.

Prior to June 1, officials declared an outbreak if two or more COVID-19 cases among residents, staffers, attendees and others were tied to a particular setting within a fourteen-day period. Now, this standard only applies to health-care or correctional facilities. An outbreak anywhere else requires at least five confirmed or probable cases over two weeks.

The October 20 roster counts 527 outbreaks currently under active investigation, up from 496 the previous week. But the 71 new or tweaked entries represent a drop from the 87 announced in the October 13 roundup, and 42 are at places that have experienced at least one previous outbreak.

Also down are the number of new outbreaks at K-12 schools, which went from 27 in the October 13 roundup to 17 a week later; several of these outbreaks are large, paced by one at Pueblo West High School that's been linked to five staff cases and 45 student cases.

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