Coronavirus Delta Variant Continues To Drive Up CT Infection Rate

CONNECTICUT — The number of Connecticut residents hospitalized with the coronavirus remained above 100 Wednesday, as the Delta variant continued to spread through the state.

According to Gov. Ned Lamont, Connecticut's COVID-19 test positivity rate inched closer to 3 percent Wednesday at 2.96 percent, up from 2.67 percent the day before. Out of 13,223 tests administered, 391 came back as positive for the virus.

The 2.96 percent figure is the highest positivity rate in Connecticut since early May.

Most of the cases in Connecticut, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are coming out of Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford and New London counties.

But Hartford and New London counties are the only two counties in the state that the CDC says currently have a "substantial" level of community transmission of the virus. On Monday, Gov. Lamont urged residents to get vaccinated, stressing that nobody wants a return of full-scale mask mandates.

Connecticut, however, may institute a mask mandate, following CDC guidance, among students and staff in K-12 schools. Lamont has not made a final decision on the matter, but he has indicated that he is leaning in that direction.