Virus metrics still slowly declining

Hospitalizations, positivity are down for now, but Lamont holding firm on restaurant rules

Connecticut’s COVID-19 data continue to trend downward, slowly but steadily, as President Joe Biden warns the pandemic will worsen nationwide in the coming weeks as his new administration begins to revamp the national response to the virus.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced 1,662 new COVID-19 cases Thursday from 38,957 tests, for a positive test rate of 4.27%.

The seven-day positivity rate now stands at 5.2%, down two points from a week ago and the lowest it has been since Dec. 2.

The number of COVID patients hospitalized across the state also dropped Thursday to 1,069, down 55 from Wednesday.

Another 48 people died of the virus, driving the total to 6,774 since the pandemic began.

“We’re watching the metrics carefully but we are continuing to make progress, I think, every day,” Lamont said. “Some of that I think is thanks to the vaccination program rolling out.”

The state so far has distributed almost 227,000 first doses of the vaccine and another 31,000 second doses as communities across Connecticut open new vaccine clinics, such as plans released Thursday to administer vaccines at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford.

Those numbers put Connecticut fourth nationally in vaccine distribution but officials say the amount of vaccine doses being provided weekly by the federal government has limited how quickly they can be administered.

“We are already at a point where there is far more capacity built, today, to administer doses than we have supply coming in from the federal government by a significant order of magnitude,” said Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer. “The patience is required simply because we don’t have enough doses coming into the state.”

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin announced Thursday the city would open a new vaccine clinic at its minor league baseball park at the beginning of February.

The clinic is expected to open on Feb. 6 and will offer vaccines by appointment for seniors 75 years old or older. Eligible residents can sign up for an appointment, or have a loved one help them sign up, online at www.ct.gov/coronavirus or by calling the state’s assist line at 877-918-2224.

“I do think this site is a very important part of it. It’s accessible, easy parking, it’s smack in the

middle of the city so people know it,” Bronin said. “So hopefully this makes it a little easier to make their plan after they’ve made that appointment to get the vaccine.”

Although COVID-19 numbers in Connecticut and the region have trended slightly downward, nationwide statistics remain grim.

Deaths across the U.S. topped 400,000 this week and Biden suggested Thursday that they could rise to 500,000 next month as he signed a series of new executive orders to combat the virus, including mask requirements on federal property and in some modes of transportation and requirements on international travelers coming to the U.S.

Experts have suggested the U.S. may have reached the peak of the winter wave of the pandemic, but they have warned continued individual measures like mask-wearing and social distancing and the efficiency of the vaccine rollout will dictate how quickly the virus will recede from daily life.

Lamont again urged patience and vigilance Thursday, noting that Connecticut is taking several steps back toward reopening this week with some students returning to in-person college and K-12 classes and the return of winter sports.

Unlike Massachusetts, which planned to ease some restrictions on restaurants Thursday as the region’s case numbers decline, Lamont said officials did not plan to change restaurant or other restrictions in Connecticut just yet.

He also indicated his staff will seek an extension of his current set of emergency powers and pandemic executive orders from the state legislature with months of pandemic still ahead.