Red Zone Spike: 39 CT Towns Now At COVID-19 Highest Alert Level

CONNECTICUT — The number of Connecticut towns in the COVID-19 red zone has jumped from seven last week to 39, in the most recent data released from the Department of Public Health.

The color codes correspond to guidance from the state DPH. Populations in the red zone have reported 15 or more cases per 100,000 over a 2-week average.

Ansonia, Ashford, Beacon, Falls, Bloomfield, Bristol, Brooklyn, Cheshire, Columbia, Durham, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Haven, Easton, Franklin, Hampton, Hartford, Ledyard, Meriden, Middlebury, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, New London, North Branford, North Haven, North Stonington, Norwich, Plymouth, Rocky Hill, Stamford, Stonington, Thomaston, Waterbury, Waterford, Wethersfield, Willington, Windham, Windsor and Wolcott now occupy the coronavirus red zone in Connecticut.

One zone down in "orange" are Andover, Barkhamsted, Bethlehem, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Colchester, Cromwell, Derby, Enfield, Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Griswold, Guilford, Hamden, Harwinton, Lebanon, Manchester, Marlborough, Milford, Naugatuck, New Canaan, New Milford, Newington, Norwalk, Orange, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Portland, Prospect, Ridgefield, Salem, Seymour, Shelton, Somers, Southbury, Southington, Stratford, Trumbull, Wallingford, Watertown, West Hartford, West Haven, Westbrook, Westport, Windsor Locks and Woodbury. These municipalities have reported 10-14 cases per 100,000 over a 2-week average.

It is important to note that the drastically increased number of cases has not translated into a commensurate increase in COVID-19 deaths in the state, although that statistic is on the rise slightly. DPH has reported 11 more coronavirus-associated deaths this week, bringing the death toll for the state since the start of the pandemic to 8,307.

The number of residents hospitalized by COVID-19 has increased by 17 beds overnight, bringing the total to 247.

The daily coronavirus positivity rate is also on the rise. Out of the 21,101 tests evaluated, 742 came back positive, bringing the daily positivity to 3.52 percent, a 0.37 percent increase over the previous day.

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