Ridgefield Creates Coronavirus Task Force

RIDGEFIELD, CT — First Selectman Rudy Marconi has formed a task force as the town moved from yellow to orange zone on the state's coronavirus infection rate map.

The task force will "help Ridgefield better understand how the state provided data affects the town's response," according to a news release. It is comprised of residents and town officials with relevant skill sets who will provide weekly updates to the media and on the town website.

The state has three warning levels that are based on the number of daily infections reported per 100,000 population over a two-week average.

With the exception of Danbury, municipalities in southwest Connecticut had been spared the spike in coronavirus infection rates seen in other parts of the state beginning in September. That changed over the past two weeks.

The state's list of towns in the red zone for coronavirus infections grew Thursday to 68. A week prior, it was at 30 towns. Around 60 percent of the state's population now lives in a community with an infection rate above 15 cases per 100,000 people per day.

Another 44 towns fall into the state's orange advisory level with between 10 and 15 cases per 100,000 people.

Connecticut's daily coronavirus report Friday showed more than 1,000 new cases, hospitalizations exceeding 400 patients and 15 more deaths.