FOX31 Denver

Colorado COVID hospital admissions at lowest point of the year

DJ Summers

A nurse suits up with protective gear before entering a patient's room at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, N.H., Jan. 3, 2022. The omicron variant has caused a surge of new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and many hospitals are not only swamped with cases but severely shorthanded because of so many employees out with COVID-19. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

DENVER (KDVR) — The year is young yet, but Colorado’s hospital numbers are at their lowest point of 2022.

The number of COVID-positive hospital patients is still high but has been falling steadily since peaking in early January. The number of COVID-positive hospital admissions should continue to decrease.

The seven-day average of hospital admissions was 228 on Jan. 26. The last time hospital admissions numbers were that low was Dec. 30, 2021, in the early stages of the omicron wave.

Cases remain high but have continued to trend down. Colorado had an average of 8,342 new COVID cases on Jan. 26, down from 13,817 on Jan. 10.

Health officials have expressed cautious optimism that the omicron wave is on the downswing in Colorado. However, the identification of a subvariant has pricked up ears.

One case of the “stealth omicron” variant, formally known as BA.2, was detected in the Denver metro area, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed for FOX31 Wednesday.