Good morning southern Colorado and here's what you need to know on your Tuesday, June 1.
If you'd like to read the full story, be sure to click on the story headline.
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Loosened restrictions under new Colorado Public Health Order
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's newest amendments to the public health order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 goes into effect today.
This update includes modifying face mask requirements which only apply to Coloradans ages twelve years old and up who are not vaccinated.
Capacity restrictions for large indoor gatherings are now removed. Schools and summer camps must adhere to county regulations.
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Expect scams during Colorado's million-dollar drawings for vaccinated adults
Starting this week the State of Colorado will have the first of five one-million-dollar cash drawings for people in the state who got vaccinated. State officials are working to clear up any confusion about what's going on and News5 wants to help you avoid any scams related to this.
Colorado will use vaccination marketing dollars from the federal government to give out these massive cash prizes, but doing something like this for the first time in state history is coming with some questions and the potential for scams.
So let's start by hitting on some key aspects of this drawing:
Who is eligible? Anyone age 18 and older who got at least one covid-19 vaccine shot.
What are the odds of winning? Governor Polis estimated about 1 in 500,000 based on the weekly drawing and the number of people who have received at least one dose.
Can you still become eligible? Yes, as long as the state has confirmed your vaccination by midnight the night before the drawing you are eligible.
When are the drawings? June 4, June 11, June 18, June 25, July 7. If someone calls you saying you won and it's not on one of these dates there is a good chance it's a scam. So keep these dates in mind.
"Be nervous and ask the person on the other end of the line, I want to make sure you are who you say you are, can I have a number to call you back at? Then, look at the website and see if that number they are giving you is the actual number of the organization. A lot of times it won't be," said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser during an interview with News5. "You can make sure you are talking to the official person with the Colorado Department of Public Health."
With these five drawings, Colorado joins states like Ohio, Maryland, New York, and Oregon in offering some type of a drawing or lottery for vaccinated people. The goal is to generate more incentive and interest in getting vaccinated as interest has started to drop off nationwide.
CLICK HERE to learn more about how to protect yourself from scammers whether or not your name is chosen in a drawing.
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Injured EVRAZ worker, union leader speak out about steel mill blast that injured 8
On Saturday, EVRAZ’s vice president of operations told News 5 the injured employees were being treated for dust inhalation, and that some may have also suffered some cuts and bruises.
News 5 spoke with one of the workers injured in the explosion at a Pueblo steel mill, as well as a steelworkers union leader. They paint a different picture than officials initially presented.
“Burns, cuts, breathing issues due to the dust in the air. That's the main stuff,” the worker said. “It definitely wasn't a minor explosion like some have said.”
While the three workers still hospitalized are expected to pull through, the likelihood they can work again is up in the air.
“Some of them are already worried about their mortgage and their rent payments, just knowing workman’s comp doesn’t pay a hundred percent,” Ludwig said.
United Steelworkers Local 2102 President Eric Ludwig said one of the workers was flown to a Denver-area hospital’s burn unit. ambulances took six others to Parkview Hospital in Pueblo, and another worker drove himself to the ER.
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Florissant family battling brain cancer raises awareness about the deadly disease
According to the National Brain Tumor Society, glioblastoma is one of the most "complex, deadly, and treatment-resistant cancers." More than 10,000 Americans are estimated to succumb to glioblastoma every year, and the average survival length is anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
A family living in Florissant wants to raise awareness about this aggressive kind of cancer.
Tammie Lowell-Davidson married her longtime friend, Jon Davidson, on October 4 of 2019. Jon was diagnosed with glioblastoma on January 6, 2020. "Memory issues, and then once he started getting the headaches, being a dispatcher, I'm like, you're going to the emergency room," said Tammie, who worked as a dispatcher for 14 years with the Cripple Creek Police Department.
Doctors found a brain tumor around the size of a golf ball and performed a surgery to try and remove it. "It's kind of like having a cup of sugar, and you dump a tablespoon of salt in it and try to get it out really fast. You're never going to get every speck. And that's the way it is with a glioblastoma resection, because they can't take out all of it because it's part of the brain. It becomes a part of the brain," said Tammie.
Tammie said doctors believed they removed the majority of the tumor, and the surgery was followed by 30 days of radiation, and then chemotherapy. Unfortunately, Jon's body was resistant to the chemotherapy treatment.
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Get your latest First Alert 5 Weather forecast
Fog, some of which will be very dense in the morning, will linger through the mid-morning today but sunny skies and warmer air will take over by lunchtime.
We'll see highs in the 60s and 70s across the lower elevations with showers and storms forming over the mountains and moving south to the southeast into the I-25 corridor and some of the adjacent plains.
A few storms could be strong and close to severe today with large hail, strong winds, and heavy rain as our main threats. Overnight we'll be calm, cool, and dry with lows in the 40s. Wednesday will be much warmer and mainly dry with only scattered storms in our southern mountains and valleys.
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