CT's 'Red' Coronavirus Alert List Jumps To 19 Towns

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut now has 19 towns in the state's "red alert" zone for coronavirus infections, a jump up from 11 last week. Most of the towns are clustered in southeastern Connecticut, but Norwalk and Fairfield have been added to the list as well.

Towns enter the red zone if their daily coronavirus case average goes above 15 cases per 100,000 people. These towns are then eligible to scale back to the state's second reopening phase if they choose. So far, only Windham has exercised that option.

Norwich, New London and Danbury are continuing to "trend down," Lamont said, predicting that "Danbury's not going to be 'red' next week, if we are doing our job." East Lyme and Preston have dropped off the list completely.

Of the new towns on the list, Norwalk is "concerning," the governor said, as the number of cases grew from 72 to 163 this week, and the positive test rate is currently at 5 percent.

On Wednesday, the state Department of Health recorded 232 hospitalizations, the most since June 12, when there were 233. Total confirmed COVID-19 cases are up another 512, and two more lives were lost to the virus, which brought the state total to 4,569 since the start of the outbreak. The coronavirus positivity rate was 2.3 percent, "better than where we were a couple of days ago," Lamont said, "but a lot more than where we were a couple of months ago."

Coronavirus "Red Alert" Towns as of Oct. 22:

1. Canterbury
2. Danbury
3. East Hartford
4. Fairfield
5. Griswold
6. Groton
7. Hartford
8. Lisbon
9. Montville
10. New London
11. Norwalk
12. Norwich
13. Plainfield
14. Prospect
15. Salem
16. Sprague
17. Windham
18. Waterbury
19. Waterford

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If you live in a "red alert" town, officials said, it may be prudent to get a test once a week. They said there is no hard and fast rule, but they encourage people in these towns to get tested as often as possible.

DPH issues a public health alert in towns that reach the threshold and encourages towns to consider going to distance learning once the average daily case count goes above 25 per 100,000 population.

DPH also advises people in red alert towns, especially members of the most vulnerable populations, to limit trips outside of their home and avoid social gatherings with non-family members. Community groups are asked to postpone indoor activities and outdoor activities where social distancing and mask use can't be maintained at all times.