Officials issue alert as COVID cases flare

Public health officials are urging Connecticut residents to continue to wear masks and social distance as COVID-19 cases have flared up, particularly among younger people, and as variants of the virus are circulating in the state.

In an alert Saturday, the state Department of Public Health said the total number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 had reached 456, after climbing over the past week.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said Saturday the city is monitoring the situation locally and throughout the region.

“Anecdotally we’re noticing more people not wearing masks and gathering in groups,” Elicker told Hearst Connecticut Media.

He offered a grim warning if people ignore the state’s COVID-19 guidelines.

“We want to remind people that, while many people are getting vaccinated, we are far from out of the woods and could see another outbreak if people aren’t cautious and following guidelines,” Elicker said.

According to DPH, cases among the oldest residents — those most likely to have been vaccinated, according to state data — have dropped, but new cases are trending younger.

New Haven County saw the highest case rate per capita, with 31.8 cases reported per 100,000 people. Towns with the highest case rates were located in the Waterbury and Naugatuck Valley region. In Waterbury, the case rate per 100,000 is 43.4, according to DPH.

Several towns that had falling or stable rates of COVID-19 have been moved back up to red alert status on the state’s color-coded map that tracks cases per capita in the state’s 169 cities and towns.

More than 90 percent of the state’s residents now live in a community marked as red on the map, meaning a case rate of at least 15 infections per 100,000 people.

On average, the state’s case rate per 100,000 is 25 — meaning the state on the whole could be considered a red alert zone.

The alert urged residents to get the vaccine when they are eligible — the state will allow everyone 16 and up to get the vaccine by appointment beginning next Thursday, April 1 — and noted that people are not fully vaccinated until 14 days after their final shot.

The warning comes as several variants of the virus that are of concern to researchers have been confirmed in the state.

Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media Workers with Community Heathcare Centers administer coronavirus testing Thursday at Veterans Memorial Park in Norwalk.