Ten additional presumptive positive cases of coronavirus were announced in Colorado on Wednesday as state health officials announced the suspicion of “limited community spread” — the same day Denver International Airport announced that an employee had tested positive for the rapidly spreading illness labeled Wednesday by the World Health Organization as a pandemic.

The new cases are located in Pitkin, Eagle, Gunnison, Denver, Jefferson and Arapahoe counties, according to a Wednesday afternoon press release from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. None of the news cases are located in El Paso County.

RELATED: Where COVID-19 is currently found in Colorado

One of the new cases — presumably the man in his 40s from Denver County referenced in a Wednesday news release from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment — is a Denver International Airport employee, according to a Wednesday press release from the city and county of Denver.

The new cases bring the state’s total of presumptive positives to 27, with an additional case that’s being treated as a presumptive positive, the state health department stated.

Three of the new cases are located in Pitkin County; all are relatives of an Australian visiting Aspen. They include a male in his 50s, a female in her 60s and a female in her 20s, the agency said.

Two new cases, both females in their 50s, were announced in Gunnison County; the cause of exposure is under investigation in both. A male in his 70s in Eagle County (exposure under investigation), a male in his 40s in Denver County (travel exposure) and a female in her 80s in Arapahoe County (exposure under investigation) were also among the newly diagnosed.

RELATED: Where COVID-19 is currently found in Colorado

The governor’s office will hold at 5 p.m. press conference with additional information, the release stated.

The suspicion of limited community spread comes as a result of the inability to identify the source of infection in some cases. It contrasts with limited person-to-person spread, which occurred in the new Pitkin County cases, state health officials said in the release.

In the case of limited community spread, actions such as school dismissals, event cancellations and allowing employees to work remotely can help slow the spread of the virus. If a community experiences ongoing spread, local and state officials, in coordination with federal officials, may make decisions to implement “interventions,” the release states, adding that interventions could differ by community.

RELATED: Where COVID-19 is currently found in Colorado

On Wednesday, the governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced that three people had tested positive for the virus, prompting her to declare a public health emergency and advise that all public events be postponed to limit the virus’s spread. The trio of cases are the state’s first.

“We are not panicked. We are prepared,” she said.

New Mexico is prohibiting out-of-state travel by its employees.

Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and inadequate government responses, the World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the virus is now a pandemic, but added that it’s not too late for countries to act.

By reversing course and using the charged word “pandemic” that it previously shied away from, the U.N. health agency sought to shock lethargic countries into pulling out all the stops.

“We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief.

RELATED: Where COVID-19 is currently found in Colorado

The Associated Press contributed to this report.