PHOTOS: Inside A Coronavirus ICU In Colorado

More than a quarter of a million Americans have died due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. In Colorado, as of Friday evening, there have been 188,566 cases and 2,745 deaths.

At the Rose Medical Center's intensive care unit in Denver, patients in critical condition are cared for around the clock by a small group of doctors, nurses and technicians.

Through glass walls and doors, I count eight patients. Two rooms are unoccupied. In most of the filled rooms, there is no movement. Some of the patients are in medically induced paralysis and comas because they are on ventilators. Others lie motionless with masks on their faces. One is sitting in a chair. Some have been there for weeks.

All live connected to small forests of machines, monitors, cables and hoses that deliver life-saving medications and data.

COVID-ICU-ROSE-MEDICAL-CENTER-201113 — The COVID-19 intensive care unit at Rose Medical Center, Denver, Nov. 13, 2020.

None of these patients can have visitors; not on the floor, not peering through the glass windows, and certainly not at bedside. The only movement in the hallway and rooms comes from caregivers, who incessantly peel off and replace layers of plastic gowns, gloves, masks and face shields.

Colorado's COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths have all climbed sharply since late summer, when public health restrictions eased. Now, cities, counties and school districts across the state have begun reinstating tougher restrictions.

Gov. Jared Polis has voiced concern about hospital capacity, directing hospitals to prepare for a surge of patients and calling a special session for state lawmakers to address the pandemic's economic and public health fallout.

Like similar units all over the state and country, the Rose COVID-19 ICU is a place few people other than patients and caregivers will ever see.