Trends have Lamont optimistic

‘There will be outdoor parades, graduations,’ as hospital cases decline over weekend

State officials and health experts painted a cautiously optimistic portrait of Connecticut’s fight against COVID-19 over the next month, projecting accelerated declines in cases and hospitalizations as an even larger swath of the population becomes vaccinated.

By the end of April, Connecticut will likely be in a “more confident position,” Gov. Ned Lamont said during a press conference Monday.

“There will be outdoor parades, there will be outdoor graduations — and even indoor graduations, wearing the mask, if there is inclement weather,” he said.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a member of Pfizer’s board of directors, similarly predicted that Connecticut would reach a “tipping point” this month.

Due to Connecticut’s vaccination rate — among the highest in the nation — and in particular the percentage of elderly residents whoare now vaccinated, the state will likely see accelerating declines in COVID19 cases and hospitalizations in the coming weeks, he said.

“We’re never going to get to zero COVID. COVIDis always going to circulate, it’s going to be a fact of life, probably for a long time. What we want to do is try to get enough immunity in the population, enough protection to the vulnerable population, that we can take more risks in terms of what we’re doing in our daily activities,” Gottlieb said. “And I think we’re going to be at that point this month.”

Connecticut reported 2,699 COVID-19 cases out of 82,365 tests administered since Friday, for a 3.28% COVID-19 test positivity rate. Monday’s positivity rate brought the state’s seven-day positivity rate down to 3.85%, a decline from a two-month high of 3.93% on Friday.

Hospitalizations in the state also declined over the weekend, for a total of 484 hospitalizations Monday, a decrease of 15 individuals since Friday. Nineteen additional residents died of COVID-19.

“No big changes,” Lamont said of the COVID-19 metrics. “I feel like it’s ‘steady as she goes’ here. We’re looking for any sharp breaks.”

Gottlieb said he did not believe that the United States would face a fourth wave

of COVID-19, but that the country would likely contend with regional outbreaks of the virus. He attributed the Northeast’s recent uptick in COVID-19 cases to the B117 variant, which emerged earlier in NewYork and Connecticut than in many other states.

“There’s enough immunity in the population here in the tri-state region that hopefully what you’re going to see is maybe a plateauing over the next couple of weeks and then we’re going to ... continue a decline in cases heading into the summer,” he said.

Vaccine rollout continues: Despite an error in a Baltimore factory that ruined 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine last week, Connecticut’s vaccine supply “continued unabated,” Lamont said, and the state expects to receive 288,000 additional doses delivered this week.

As of Monday, more than two-thirds (67%) of residents ages 45 and older have received a first dose of the vaccine. Overall, nearly half of residents ages 16 and older (45%) have received a first dose.

The state aims to see 40% of residents ages 16 to 44 vaccinated within the next week and 60% within the next few weeks, state official said.

Connecticut’s vaccine rollout will soon receive a boost from mobile vaccination vans, which Lamont compared to ice-cream trucks that will be sent out into neighborhoods, enabling residents to walk up and receive a shot.

“They’re going to be wildly available all over the state,” Lamont said.

Hartford announces two no-appointment, walk-up clinics: The City of Hartford announced two new walk-up vaccine clinics for Hartford residents aged 18 and older. Appointments are not required for the clinics. Each clinic has the capacity to vaccinated 200 residents; and residents will be given appointments for other clinics if they are not able to be vaccinated.

The first clinic will be held Tuesday at the Swift Factory at 10 Love Lane in the North End, from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (or when vaccines run out).

The second clinic will be held at the Free Center at 460 New Britain Avenue, also from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first clinic is outdoors; the second clinic is indoors.

“Our first walk-up clinic last week was a huge success, and we have more opportunities this week for hundreds of residents to get vaccinated without any appointment, right in their neighborhood,” Mayor Luke Bronin said Monday.

Hartford will likely run a third walk-up clinic this week.