Press Release

Denver, March 2, 2020: The State Laboratory at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment can now test for COVID-19. Prior to now, testing had only been done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The test will be used for people who meet the criteria for COVID-19 testing only; it is not available to the general public. 

DENVER (Feb. 20): Officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment are following through on newly enacted laws that position Colorado to lead the nation on pursuing actions to reverse the impacts of climate change.

Feb. 11, 2020 (DENVER, Colo.): Due to recent scams involving third-party vendors that claim to provide certified copies of birth certificates and other official documents at a fee, the StopFraud Colorado program in the Attorney General’s Office and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Vital Records Section remind consumers to order birth certificates or other vital records through approved channels only.

The legal marijuana industry is a large market for carbon dioxide consumption, as carbon dioxide is used to grow product in a condensed time span and increase yields. Carbon dioxide is a key component in the cannabis plant growth process as the plant translates light into the energy needed for growth.  

Denver, Jan. 28: The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment received confirmation from CDC last night that the third test for the novel coronavirus was negative. The department continues to believe the current health risk is low for novel coronavirus in Colorado.

State public health officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment say the risk to the general public is low for novel coronavirus in Colorado. At the same time, state officials continue to investigate possible cases of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in patients with respiratory symptoms and travel history to China. The department is preparing for a swift response if the virus is found in the state. To date, Colorado has no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. 

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday, January 21 that they reached a settlement with K.P. Kauffman Company, Inc. (KPK), an oil and gas firm headquartered in Denver. 

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment now has additional resources available for public drinking water system operators to test for persistent chemicals that originate from toxic firefighting foam and other sources. The department secured $500,000 in supplemental funding from the state legislature. Public water system operators can apply for funding through Jan. 29, 2020.

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, and the state health department encourages women ages 21-74 across Colorado to start the year by talking with their health care providers about scheduling a Pap test. A Pap test is the first line of defense against cervical cancer. When cervical cancer is found early, more than 92% of women had a five-year survival.

Students from Windsor and Montrose took top honors in this year’s radon awareness poster contest.