7 Connecticut Towns Back In Coronavirus 'Red Zone'

CONNECTICUT — Seven Connecticut towns are now in the high-alert rate "red zone" as the coronavirus delta variant leads a fourth wave of infections through the state.

East Hampton, Easton, Hampton, Hartford, Hartland, North Stonington and Thomaston have reported 15 or more cases per 100,000 over a 2-week average.

One zone down in "orange" are Ansonia, Bloomfield, Bolton, Bozrah, Bristol, Brookfield, Cheshire, Derby, Durham, East Hartford, East Haven, Griswold, Ledyard, Manchester, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Newington, North Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Old Lyme, Plymouth, Rocky Hill, Salem, Stamford, Stonington, Thompson, Trumbull, Waterbury, Waterford, West Hartford and Windsor. These municipalities have reported 10-14 cases per 100,000 over a 2-week average.

The color codes correspond to guidance from the state Department of Public Health.

On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placed New Haven County at "high" risk level for community transmission of the coronavirus, the most extreme tier in that agency's latest set of transmission metrics. The state's other seven counties are not far behind, all of them logging in with "substantial" levels of transmission.

What is to be done? Gov. Ned Lamont continues to "strongly advise that everyone wear masks while inside of public locations as recommended by the CDC."

The governor's — and the CDC's — strongest recommendation is for more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In the wake of the rapid spread of the delta variant, more people appear to be listening. Vaccinations in Connecticut are up about 3 percent in the youngest age tiers over the past two weeks.

As of Thursday, Connecticut residents who have received at least one dose by age group includes 96 percent of those over the age of 65, 87 percent of those between 55-64, 77 percent of those between 45-54, 74 percent of those between 35-44, 65 percent of those between 25-34, 62 percent of those between 18-24, 70 percent of those between 16-17 and 55 of those between 12-15.

Those vaccination rates vary widely across the state, with the western portion of Connecticut being much more thoroughly inoculated than the eastern population. In acknowledgement of this, Lamont's latest executive order gives municipal leaders the option of mandating that all residents, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in indoor public places within their local jurisdiction.

Although the infection rate is slowly creeping up, deaths from the coronavirus have become much rarer in the state, and the unvaccinated and elderly remain the most vulnerable. In the past two weeks there were three COVID-19-associated deaths at three nursing homes. Masonicare Health Center in Wallingford, Woodlake at Tolland and The Lutheran Home of Southbury all lost residents to the virus.