Number Of CT 'Red Zones' More Than Doubles, Now At 67

CONNECTICUT — The number of Connecticut towns in the COVID-19 high-alert red zone has more than doubled in the past week, according to data released Thursday afternoon from the state Department of Public Health.

DPH now numbers 67 towns in the highest alert category, up from 31 just last week.

These "red zone" towns are: Ansonia, Barkhamsted, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Bristol, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canterbury, Chaplin, Columbia, Cornwall, Coventry, Darien, Derby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Lyme, Enfield, Franklin, Goshen, Granby, Griswold, Groton, Hampton, Hartland, Harwinton, Killingly, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Litchfield, Marlborough, Middlebury, Morris, Naugatuck, New London, New Milford, North Branford, North Canaan, North Stonington, Norwich, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Plymouth, Pomfret, Preston, Putnam, Seymour, Somers, Southington, Sprague, Sterling, Stonington, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Torrington, Trumbull, Union, Voluntown, Waterbury, Waterford, Watertown, Windham, Wolcott and Woodbury.

The Naugatuck Valley has returned as a coronavirus hot spot, joining the eastern part of the state with the greatest concentration of red zone municipalities.

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, COVID-19 positivity dropped back down to earth, to 2.55 percent. Out of 29,321 tests taken, 747 cases were confirmed.

Twenty-five residents have died from COVID-19 over the past seven days, down from last week's report of 33 deaths from the state Department of Public Health. The coronavirus death toll in the state is currently 8,834.

DPH is reporting that as of Thursday, a total of 21,071 cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated persons in Connecticut have been confirmed. Of the 2,411,890 persons who have completed their vaccine series, 0.87 percent of Connecticut’s fully vaccinated persons have contracted the virus, an 0.06 percent increase from last week's report from the Department of Public Health.

Nationwide, coronavirus-related deaths have trended downward by 1 percent over the past seven days. The number of cases, on the other hand, tracked upward by 18 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

According to the vaccine tracker maintained by the Mayor Clinic, about 71.5 percent of Connecticut's total population has received all their COVID-19 vaccine shots as of Thursday afternoon, up a half-percentage point from last week's tally. Nationwide, just 59.2 percent of the population has completed their vaccine series, and that needle has not moved very far in the past seven days. Connecticut's vaccination rate behind only that of Vermont and Maine.

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 65, 93 percent of those between 55-64 (up 1 percent from last week), 84 percent of those between 45-54, 85 percent of those between 35-44 (up 1 percent from last week), 78 percent of those between 25-34 (up 1 percent from last week), 72 percent of those between 18-24 (up 1 percent from last week), 81 percent of those between 16-17 (up 1 percent from last week), 72 percent of those between 12-15 (up 1 percent from last week) and 13 percent of those in the newest eligibility tier, aged 5-11.

The graph above illustrates the slow progress toward complete vaccination.

Predictably, residents in the eastern area of the state, with the highest coronavirus infection rates, are also least likely to be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the data released by DPH.

Mansfield remains the outlier, still with less than 39 percent of its population fully vaccinated. Of all Connecticut municipalities, only Canaan, with its population of 1,053, has fully vaccinated all its residents.

The number of Connecticut hospital beds claimed by COVID-19 patients dropped by six overnight. There are 241 patients currently hospitalized with the coronavirus in the state. Of those, 68, or 28.2 percent, are fully vaccinated.

Most of the Connecticut residents hospitalized for COVID-19 (80) can be found within hospitals in New Haven County.

The charts above and below show the "relative risk," or the difference in risk when comparing rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons.

The latest data show unvaccinated residents have a 12 times higher risk of dying from the coronavirus, compared to the vaccinated. Their risk of hospitalization is seven times greater.

Although coronavirus deaths in Connecticut have declined markedly since February, it is important to note that death — and hospitalization — rates have consistently been higher among unvaccinated persons compared to fully vaccinated persons.

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During the week of Nov. 18-24, only one school in Connecticut reported any coronavirus cases. Samuel Staples Elementary School in Easton recorded less than six cases during the reporting period, according to DPH.