COVID-19 Infection Rate, Hospitalizations Rise In CT: Town-By-Town Updates

CONNECTICUT — Across the U.S. and the state, the omicron subvariant known as BA.2 has become the dominant strain in circulation, accounting for almost three out of every four cases in the country.

But the uptick in cases in no way compares to the spike caused by the primary omicron variant this past winter. Most significantly, BA.2 is proving far less lethal than either delta or omicron.

The heightened virulence of BA.2 can be seen dramatically in the new scarlet spread across the state coronavirus alert map. Twenty-five municipalities now reside in the highest-alert "red" zone, up five towns from last week's report from the Department of Public Health. Thirty-five towns now sit on the lowest infection "gray" rung, 63 are "yellow" and 46 are "orange."

The color codes correspond to guidance from DPH. Populations in the red zone have reported 15 or more cases per 100,000 people over a two-week average.

On Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont said the state's positivity rate is 4.88 percent in terms of PCR/NAAT tests over the last 7 days. Connecticut ceased sharing daily cases and a daily positivity rate as of Apr. 4. Instead, test positivity is being calculated as a seven-day rolling average.

The virus claimed 19 lives in Connecticut over the week — 13 fewer than logged the week before — according to the state Department of Public Health.

The Connecticut COVID-19 death toll was 10,443 as of Thursday.

DPH reported the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in Connecticut has continued to climb, rising to 127, up 39 beds from last week.

The number of COVID-19 cases among Connecticut PK-12 staff and students has been relatively steady through the first quarter of 2022.

On Wednesday, the Department of Public Health reported 1,015 total infections for students, up from 886 last week. DPH logged 332 positive COVID-19 cases among school staff, up from 247 the previous week.

Cases among staff and students had remained relatively low until the first week of November, when they began their climb. Confirmed cases among both groups shot up dramatically after the first of the year.

Here is the school-by-school breakdown:

Canaan, with its population of 1,053, is still the only town to be fully vaccinated, although neighboring Salisbury is close. There, one hundred percent of the people have received their first dose, and just over 96 percent have gotten both jabs.

All Connecticut residents over the age of 5 are currently eligible to receive the vaccines. The state maintains an online database of vaccination clinic locations here.

As of Thursday, those residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 include more than 95 percent of those over the age of 55, 91 percent of those between 45-54, 94 percent of those between 35-44, 89 percent of those between 25-34, 85 percent of those between 18-24, 88 percent of those between 16-17, 81 percent of those between 12-15 and 48 percent of those aged 5-11.

Instructions on how to get COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters in Connecticut are available online, as is a list of walk-up clinics sponsored by DPH.

See also: CT Gov. Ned Lamont Tests Positive For COVID-19

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The table below shows new COVID-19 cases in the past 7 days by vaccination status. The percentage of cases among fully vaccinated residents is influenced by the increasing proportion of the population that is eligible for and has completed a vaccine series, and should be considered in light of the overall proportion of vaccinated individuals who have contracted the virus, according to DPH.

The following table shows cases and deaths among fully vaccinated persons, and among persons who have received an additional dose, by age group. As shown below, persons who have received an additional dose are a subset of those cases that are fully vaccinated.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 559,011 cases have been identified among people who are not fully vaccinated. Eight hundred sixty-six COVID-19 related deaths have occurred among the 181,192 fully vaccinated persons confirmed with COVID-19.

The latest data show unvaccinated residents have a 12 times higher risk of infection and hospitalization from the coronavirus, compared to the vaccinated.