Colorado's summer festivals didn't turn into COVID-19 super-spreader events, though at least 300 people who attended were infected.

While the data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment isn't comprehensive — some people who were infected probably didn't get tested, and contact tracing may not have linked all cases together — it's an encouraging sign that largely outdoor events could go on safely, at least in warmer months.

The rest of the state's COVID-19 picture isn't so pretty, though, with cases in schools and long-term care facilities continuing to rise.

The Colorado State Fair had the most linked cases of the festival-associated outbreaks, with 91 infections traced to it. That's a small percentage of those who visited the fair, however. Attendance topped 450,000 this year, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.

Case totals for outbreaks tied to summer festivals were:

  • Country Jam: 38
  • Denver's Global Dance Festival: 37
  • Major League Baseball All-Star Game: 33
  • Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival: 25
  • Greeley Stampede: 25
  • Meeker Range Call: 17
  • String Cheese Incident concert at Red Rocks: 15
  • Grand Junction Carnival: 15
  • iAM SILVERTON Music Fest: 12

One death, of a staff member at Country Jam in Mesa County, has been tied to this summer's festivals.

Colleges are another bright spot. Unlike last year, they haven't proven to be a major source of infection, with high vaccination rates likely playing a role. As of Wednesday, four colleges and universities in Colorado had outbreaks that had started during the current academic year, infecting a combined 19 staff members and 57 students.

Colorado State University Pueblo's outbreak, which started in September 2020 and has infected 406 people, is still considered ongoing. One staff member's death was linked to the outbreak.

K-12 schools are another story. As of Wednesday, 206 have current outbreaks, with 3,353 student cases, 503 staff cases and one staff death.

While there are still fewer outbreaks in schools than at the peak of the deadly December wave, when there were 212, more than three times as many people have been infected. When schools began shutting down due to lack of staff in early December, the state had linked 1,250 cases to schools. At that time, most students were required to wear masks, and a significant number of schools were at least partly remote.

Most other categories of outbreaks held steady this week, but the number of clusters in assisted living facilities and nursing homes rose again, after dropping last week for the first time since July. As of Wednesday, 151 long-term care facilities reported outbreaks, with 731 cases among residents and 673 among staff. The current outbreaks have killed 42 residents.

The situation has been significantly worse, however. In late December, 309 facilities had outbreaks, and more than 5,700 residents and 4,800 staff members were infected. At that point, 671 people had died, and more would succumb to COVID-19 before the outbreaks were over.