CT Reports 87 Coronavirus Deaths In A Day

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut’s positive test rate dipped back down to 6.23 percent Wednesday, but the state saw an astonishing 87 deaths reported in a single day. The death count was the highest for a single day since mid-May.

Net coronavirus hospitalizations saw a slight dip of six patients down to 1,148 currently hospitalized.

The states positive test rate can swing by wide amounts on a day-by-day basis. The average number of cases per day has been on the rise since Christmas.

Positive test rates are just one of the indicators used to peer into the current coronavirus situation. Connecticut uses it as a secondary indicator to guide school districts on the amount of in-person learning that should be done — the main indicator is the number of daily cases per capita averaged over two weeks, which the state reports weekly on Thursdays.

Gov. Ned Lamont has said that the state’s hospital capacity and number of beds being used by coronavirus patients will be used as the main indicator to determine future coronavirus restrictions if needed. The number of beds used by coronavirus patients has generally remained steady since early December with days of ups and downs.

The John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center notes that it is difficult to do apples-to-apples comparisons across state lines because testing strategies differ. Some states only report PCR tests while others include both PCR and antigen tests. Connecticut is near the top when it comes to testing per capita.