Positivity, hospitalizations decline as state passes grim milestone for deaths

More than 6,000 have now died; officials urge caution for new strain

As hospitalizations due to the coronavirus continue to decline, the state passed a once unthinkable milestone Saturday when the number of COVID-19-associated deaths reached 6,099 in Connecticut.

The state’s positivity rate also dropped to 7.06% for Thursday and Friday after hovering at 9% earlier in the week. There were 62,526 COVID-19 tests over the two-day period, with 4,412 confirmed positive results. There have been 190,120 COVID-19 cases in Connecticut.

Connecticut’s seven-day positivity rate now stands at 6.8%, up from recent weeks.

Deaths, considered a lagging indicator, continue to accumulate. The state reported 104 COVID-19-associated deaths for Thursday and Friday, bringing the total since March to 6,099.

The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 also declined by 80 to 1,056. Hospitalizations were roughly flat throughout the month of December. Hartford County leads all other counties in Connecticut for the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 321.

“We continue to see concerning numbers of infections around the state, and lives lost due to this virus,” Max Reiss, a spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont, said Saturday evening. “Seeing a continued downward trend in hospitalizations is promising, but we must not let our guard down in this new year. We must all continue to wear masks, socially distance, and avoid unnecessary travel and gatherings to mitigate the spread of COVID19.”

The Coronavirus Research Center at Johns Ho pkins University reported Saturday afternoon that 349,391 Americans have perished due to coronavirus pandemic. There have been 20,319,155 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Gov. Lamont and top health officials are continuing to urge residents to wear masks and to practice social distancing, particularly as a new highly contagious strain of COVID-19 is now appearing in the United States.

“We’ve learned a lot,” Lamont said last week. “Not only does the mask make all the difference in the world, we also warned about informal social interactions. ... Next New Year’s Eve could be a really big show if we are really cautious this time around.”

Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, said last week that the state must remain vigilant, particularly with a post-holiday surge in cases possible in January.

“The way to manage the appearance of this new UK strain is by wearing a mask, avoiding gatherings with people outside your household, keeping your physical distance,” Gifford said.

Nearly 60,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Connecticut as the state aims to have health care workers and nursing home residents vaccinated by the end of January.