Darien Coronavirus Update: Number Of Reported Cases Jumps To 176

DARIEN, CT — The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in Darien jumped by more than 20 to 176 as of Wednesday, according to state health officials.

The day before, Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson had announced a modest increase of two cases from 151 to 153. In a statement, Stevenson said a coding error at some testing labs led to the large increase.

"Our Local Health Department was notified today that there has been a coding error with positive cases from certain COVID-19 testing laboratories," Stevenson wrote on Facebook. "This error has resulted in positive cases being significantly under reported to cities and towns. As a result, the total number of cases reported to the Town of Darien jumped from 153 on April 21 to 176 on April 22. Five of those cases remain under investigation for accuracy."

The number of deaths in Fairfield County as of Wednesday increased to 584, while the number of confirmed cases in the county climbed to 9,883, according to state health officials. (Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.)

Connecticut had 22,469 confirmed coronavirus cases, up by more than 2,100, as of Wednesday, and 1,544 coronavirus-related deaths, an increase of 121.

Hospitalizations statewide rose by 23 to 1,972 as of Wednesday.