Colorado reported 1,072 new coronavirus cases Monday, the one of the highest daily totals since the pandemic began seven months ago.

There have now been 86,374 cases of the virus in Colorado. Counting Monday, five of the six days with the highest number of reported cases have come since Oct. 9; the only other high mark was set April 23.

Over the past week, the state has confirmed an average of 960 cases per day. The percentage of tests that returned positive also went up Monday, to 6.24%. That’s the third-highest positivity rate since early August.

“These numbers are definitely a concern for us. We need everyone to follow public health guidance to control disease transmission and ensure that health care and public health capacity isn’t strained,” said the state’s epidemiologist, Dr. Rachel Herlihy, said in a statement Monday afternoon. “We also want Coloradans who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to get tested.”

As of Monday, 465 people have been hospitalized as either confirmed or suspected COVID patients, a growth of 60 patients. That number has been steadily ticking upward in recent days; it’s now the highest number of hospitalizations in the state since late May. Forty-nine patients have either been discharged or transferred within the past 24 hours.

As of Monday, 2,051 people have died from the virus.

Colorado — and particularly parts of the Denver metro area — has been in the midst of a coronavirus spike in recent weeks. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said last week that the city was at a “make or break moment,” and two nearby counties — Arapahoe and Adams — have both been charged with blunting the spread of the virus or face tightened public health orders.

On Friday, Colorado set a new single-day high, a mark that Gov. Jared Polis called “very concerning.” He said the spike could put hospitals “in trouble” over the next several weeks. Currently, roughly a third of the state’s critical care adult ventilators are in use. Three-quarters of intensive care beds are filled; the same number of acute care beds are also currently in use.

Last week, Hancock announced that mask orders will be extended to include outdoor spaces and that gatherings, both in public and private, will be limited to five people. Officials from Adams and Arapahoe counties also introduced new orders there, limiting gatherings and applying other tighter restrictions, in an effort to lower the caseload there.

Public health officials cited several possibilities for the increase, including “pandemic fatigue,” residents failing to remain at home when sick and engaging with more people outside their normal social circles.

And colder weather and the upcoming holiday season are points of concern, said one health official, as the season forces people to remain indoors and brings with it increased activities and gatherings.

Health officials urged residents to continue wearing masks, washing their hands, remaining home when ill and physically distancing from others to curb the spread of COVID-19. They also suggested residents get their flu shots to prevent exacerbating the ongoing pandemic and the stressed health care system fighting it; that they “get creative” when deciding how to celebrate the holidays this year; take the same preventions while traveling as when at home; and consider traveling by car rather than plane.