Experts: Warm weather, eased health measures may be factors

COVID-19 infections have surged in Connecticut, pushing the state to claim one of the highest rates of new cases in the country this week, data shows.

The number of new cases per person over the previous seven days in Connecticut was the highest in the country on Monday and the second highest on both Tuesday and Wednesday, according to data The New York Times collects from state and local health agencies.

There were 74 new cases reported per 100,000 residents in Connecticut

during the seven-day stretch ending Wednesday, which was more than double the nationwide average, according to the most recent data available Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, hospitalizations and deaths in Connecticut have also risen in recent weeks, but both measures, as well as new cases, remain well below the most dramatic peaks seen in earlier stretches during the pandemic.

As of Wednesday, only Rhode Island had a higher rate, at 77 cases per 100,000 residents.

The data shows Connecticut is in the center of a cluster of hotspots that have emerged across much of the Northeast. Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and New York also rank among the top 10 for new cases per capita.

The recent spike in cases puts Connecticut in an unfamiliar position. Accounting for all cases since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Connecticut has one of the lowest rates in the nation, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But beginning a week ago, the CDC marked six Connecticut counties — all except Fairfield and New London counties — as having the highest possible rank in levels of transmission.

Janelle Chiasera, dean of the School of Health Sciences at Quinnipiac University, said while it is hard to precisely pinpoint what is driving Connecticut's relatively high rate of new infections, she noted several factors were likely colliding. Warmer weather has likely encouraged more people to attend social events. Many people have chosen to forego masks. And interest in vaccines and booster shots has waned as public health restrictions and guidance have loosened in recent weeks.

“What's different is really our response to it and how we're choosing to live with it,” Chiasera said. “We have definitely, in Connecticut, relaxed what we do to protect ourselves from COVID and to protect others from COVID.”

But this week, the evershifting public health guidance turned once again. Federal health officials issued warnings Wednesday about rising case numbers, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, and urged residents in those places to wear masks while indoors, the Associated Press reported. The news service said some experts fear the US is experiencing the start of a sixth wave in infections.

Meanwhile, Connecticut still ranks among the top states for vaccine adoption, with 80 percent of the population fully vaccinated. That's the fourth highest rate in the country. Nationwide, about two-thirds of eligible people are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.