Hospital cases dip below 400
CDC updates its guidance for fully vaccinated people
Connecticut’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped below 400 for the first time since early November, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday afternoon.
While Lamont noted at his press briefing that the numbers are trending in the right direction, he cautioned residents “don’t lift your guard,” noting that the more contagious virus variants are still circulating in Connectiicut.
The state’s hospitalizations numbers dropped by 40 over the weekend, for a total of 388 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Hospitalizations hit a peak in mid-December, but then held mostly steady for several weeks. The number has been consistently dropping since mid- to late January.
The state on Monday also reported a three-day positivity rate of 2.6%, after the state identified 2,066 new cases out of a total of 78,634 tests administered. Although that rate is slightly higher than the daily rates reported at the end of last week — which came in just under 2%— the weekly average rate has remained about the same.
Including the weekend’s data, the weekly average rate for positivity is now 2.3%.
Also on Monday, Connecticut reported 21 additional coronavirus-related deaths, for a total of 7,725 deaths since the pandemic began. The state’s daily death count has declined in recent weeks, although the state still routinely reports double-digit numbers each day.
Nationwide, there have now been more than 29 million coronavirus cases and a total of 525,541 coronavirus deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
State finds 15 new cases of B117 strain: Lamont on Monday announced that the state has identified 15 additional cases of the more contagious B117 strain of the coronavirus, which was first identified in the United Kingdom. Those 15 new cases were identified from specimens that were collected from late January to mid-February.
In total, Connecticut has now found 81 cases of the new strain. One of those people has died of the new strain of the virus, the state reported Monday.
The state also reported on Monday that it has identified a second case of the B1351 strain, which was first identified in South Africa,
Both the B117 and the B1351 strains are believed to be more contagious variants of the virus, although they are not believed to cause more severe illness.
Trinity College plans in-person graduation: Trinity College in Hartford announced Mondaythat it is planning to hold an in-person graduation ceremony in May.
In a letter to students, Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney said that the ceremony will still look different than in non-pandemic years. The college will host two back-to-back ceremonies on May 21 — the first in the morning and the second in the afternoon — and each graduating student will be allowed only two in-person guests.
All guests will be required to present either a negative COVID19 test or proof of vaccination, the letter said, and everyone at the ceremony will be required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.
New CDC guidance for vaccinated people: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday released new guidance about how people can shift their behavior once they’re fully vaccinated against COVID19 — including gathering indoors with other vaccinated people, without masks or social distancing
Vaccinated people can also gather indoors with low-risk unvaccinated people, including children, so long as the gathering does not expand outside of a single household.
That means that vaccinated grandchildren can safely visit with grandchildren who aren’t vaccinated, under the guidance.
People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or the singular dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
However, the CDCstill advises even fully vaccinated people should still wear masks and practice social distancing when in public, according to The New York Times. That’s because vaccinated people may still be able to spread the virus to others, including others who are not yet vaccinated and therefore could become ill.
In addition to loosened guidance around gatherings, fully vaccinated people also do not need to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID-19, according to the CDC.
The agency is also still advising everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to avoid traveling.
In Connecticut, more than 1.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines had been distributed as of Monday, including about 773,280 first doses. About 26% of the state’s adult population was at least partially vaccinated.