West Hartford Coronavirus Infection Rate Improving

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Even as the Northeast moves into the fall with its threat of more severe respiratory illness, Connecticut is managing to keep the coronavirus mostly in check.

COVID-19 positivity statewide has remained under 3 percent for the past 3 weeks. Hospitalizations have been declining for even longer.

West Hartford had an average of 9.5 daily cases per 100,000 residents and a positive test rate of 2.9 percent between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7, according to the state Department of Public Health. There were 12.3 daily cases per 100,000 residents on the average in the previous two-week reporting period. It’s important to note that a small number of cases can have a large impact on a municipal case rate, especially for small towns.

Around 130 of Connecticut’s 169 towns had a case rate that was lower or the same in the last two weeks compared with the previous two weeks.

The total number of red zone towns in Connecticut — those with 15 or more cases per 100,000 — is 37, down 18 from last week. West Hartford is categorized as “yellow,” with 5-9 cases per 100,000. The color codes correspond to guidance from the health department.

The statewide death rate from COVID-19, which had picked up in September, is also on the decline this week. The number of coronavirus-associated deaths, reported weekly by DPH, dropped from 53 to 38 on Thursday. The coronavirus death toll for West Hartford since the start of the pandemic is 233.

Health officials attribute the state’s recent positive coronavirus trends to its stellar vaccination rate. Connecticut is third highest in the nation this week behind Vermont and Massachusetts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Around 76 percent of West Hartford residents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of Oct. 7, according to DPH.