Boulder is the county’s most populous city, so it might not be a surprise that it leads neighboring cities with 83 confirmed and probable cases of the new coronavirus, according to data available through Monday.

Boulder County Public Health Executive Director Jeff Zayach was expected to present the Boulder City Council with data on COVID-19’s progress through the community at its online meeting Tuesday night.

Slides prepared for Zayach’s presentation show Boulder with 83 cases, Longmont with 51, Lafayette at 21 and Louisville registering 15.

As defined for the purposes of the Zayach’s presentation, “probable” cases are high risk contacts of confirmed cases who developed compatible symptoms.

Municipalities with fewer than three cases were not included in the county’s presentation in order to protect the confidentiality of individuals who are confirmed positive.

“We have to remember that looking at test results alone is not adequate to draw conclusions about disease presence in each municipality as there is no comprehensive testing in place,” Zayach said Tuesday afternoon in a prepared statement.

“We have to assume that we have community transmission occurring and we must all closely follow the stay-at-home orders, social distancing and hygiene guidance.”

The county health department’s updated countywide numbers through 3:30 p.m. Tuesday showed 170 confirmed cases, another 31 classified as “probable,” with 51 people having been hospitalized and 97 recovered from their sickness.

The county’s death toll attributed to the the pandemic held fast at five on Tuesday. Also, there were 29 staff or residents who had tested positive across eight separate long-term care facilities.

Earlier Tuesday, Boulder County Public Health spokesperson Chana Goussetis said there had been some hesitation on the part of that department to publicly break down the distribution of confirmed COVID-19 cases in detailed geographic fashion.

“Because there is confirmed communitywide spread of the illness, we know there are many people who have the virus who have not been tested, thus positive tests are more a reflection of access to testing than presence of disease,” she wrote in an email.

Additionally, Goussetis stated, “Although someone may reside in a particular location, in many cases the virus was transmitted elsewhere, especially if someone regularly traveled to another town/city/state/country.”

Therefore, she said, it was important for people in an area identified as not having many cases not to let down their guard or suspend taking all the precautions that have been urged upon the public through the course of the pandemic, which led to Gov. Jared Polis issuing a stay-at-home order that is now effective through April 26.

Zayach on Tuesday evening was also expected to present to the Council data on confirmed cases by concentration within a population. Boulder, for example, again leads its neighbors with 77.3 confirmed and probable cases per 100,000 people. Lafayette is right behind, with 75 per 100,000. Longmont ‘s rate is 53.1 per 100,000, and east county cities — including Lafayette and Louisville but also folding in Erie and Superior — are at 52 per 100,000.

Statewide, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 179 have now died statewide, and there have been 5,429 cases of COVID-19 confirmed across 54 of Colorado’s 64 counties. Forty-four outbreaks have been reported at residential and non-hospital long-term care facilities. The state data is valid only through Monday.

Total COVID-19 case count, confirmed and probable by city, through Monday

Boulder: 83

Longmont: 51

Lafayette: 21

Louisville: 15

Superior: 4

Erie: 4

Niwot: 3

Allenspark: 3

Note: Cities with fewer than three cases are not listed to preserve patient confidentiality

Total COVID-19 case count, confirmed and probable, per 100,000 population, through Monday

Boulder: 77.3

Lafayette: 75

Louisville: 72.4

Longmont: 53.1

East County, inclusive of Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior: 52

Source: Boulder County Public Health