El Paso County Public Health Department is urging everyone — regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status — to wear masks inside public buildings, which the city of Manitou Springs has mandated.

The number of local cases has risen sharply, likely because of the omicron variant. On Jan. 1, the rolling average of daily cases was 721; it climbed to 1,666 on Tuesday, Jan. 11.

Since March 1, 2020, 1,449 deaths in the county are being blamed on the pandemic. The 2021 daily death rate peaked on Dec. 2, with 11 fatalities.

The 80- to 89-year-old age group still leads all deaths, with 396. That’s 36 percent of the total deaths, although those people comprise only 2.4 percent of the county’s population.

People aged 60 to 69 lead all hospitalizations, with 1,313 out of the 6,512 since March 2020. That’s more than 49 percent of hospitalizations, although that age group is just 9.9 percent of the county’s population.

The 80829 ZIP code has experienced 669 cases between March 1, 2020, and Jan. 11, 2022. That’s an increase of 27 cases since Jan. 6.

Information: www.elpasocountyhealth.org.