Hospital cases lowest since early August

Weekly positivity dips slightly, with 5 counties in ‘high’ transmission

Connecticut reported its lowest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since early August on Thursday, as well as a slight dip in its weekly positivity rate.

The metrics are a potentially promising sign, though the state’s COVID-19 numbers have been uneven recently, with both increases and decreases in COVID-19 positivity rate and hospitalizations. Experts have warned that the virus could spike at the end of this year, though that surge has not yet emerged.

Cases and positivity rate: On Thursday, Connecticut reported 410 COVID-19 cases out of 24,611 tests administered, for a daily test positivity rate of 1.67%. The state’s weekly positivity rate now stands at 1.98%, a decline from the 2.08% weekly positivity rate reported on Wednesday.

As of Thursday, five Connecticut counties — Hartford, Litchfield, New London, Tolland and Windham counties — were experiencing “high” levels of COVID19

transmission as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while Connecticut’s remaining three counties were experiencing “substantial” levels of COVID-19 transmission.

Forty Connecticut towns and cities currently qualify for the state’s “red alert” designation, which is triggered when a municipality averages 15 or more daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.

Hospitalizations: As of Thursday, there were 224 people in Connecticut hospitalized with COVID-19, a decrease of two people since Wednesday. Hospitalizations

are now at the lowest level they have been since Aug. 10.

Connecticut has seen notable declines in hospitalizations this week, including a 22-person drop reported Wednesday — the most significant decline the state has seen in weeks.

According to state data released Thursday, 78.1% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 in Connecticut are not fully vaccinated. Hospital officials say that many vaccinated people hospitalized with the disease were admitted for other reasons and do not have severe symptoms.

Deaths: Connecticut reported 14 COVID-19 deaths in the past week on Thursday, bringing its total number of deaths related to COVID-19 during the pandemic to 8,721. In comparison to the past four weeks, during which the state recorded an average of about 42 deaths per week, this week’s data reflected a notable decline.

The United States has now recorded 731,904 COVID-19 deaths, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

Vaccinations: As of Thursday, 78% of all Connecticut residents and 89.5% of those 12 and older had received at least one COVID19 vaccine dose, while 70.1% of all residents and 80.5% of those 12 and older were fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

The state has administered 145,543 booster shots and third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since Aug.13, according to Department of Public Health spokesperson Chris Boyle.

According to state data, being unvaccinated currently increases a person’s chances of being infected with COVID-19 by a factor of four, of being hospitalized with COVID-19 by a factor of 31 and of dying from COVID-19 by a factor of 23.