El Paso County in Colorado — home to Colorado Springs and a county-wide population of 699,232 people — has the 6th highest COVID-19 fatality rate in the country. On March 29, 5.1% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in El Paso County resulted in death, Out There Colorado reports. Dougherty, Georgia, has the highest fatality rate among COVID-19 cases with a 7.1% fatality rate.
El Paso County Public Health Deputy Medical Director, Dr. Leon Kelly said in a recent press conference that a lack of testing may skew that fatality rate to possibly look higher than they really are. If more people were tested — like people with mild COVID-19 symptoms — then that fatality rate could come down, but it’s hard to say for certain. However, El Paso County’s infection rate is still comparatively lower than other Colorado counties.
Gunnison, Eagle, and Pitkin counties have the highest rate of infection, with 477.49, 413.76, and 167.79 cases per 100,000 residents, according to a recent report by Out There Colorado. Colorado has been under a stay at home order since March 25. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold day by day, we can only remain hopeful and do our best at following governmental guidelines to decrease the spread of the novel coronavirus.
