The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
On average, CT is now a COVID ‘red alert’ zone
Earlier this month, Gov. Ned Lamont rolled out a new color-coded system to show the level of the COVID-19 spread in each Connecticut municipality.
At 16.5 cases per day per 100,000 residents over a seven-day span, the state on average can now be considered a “red alert” zone — the highest level on the list.
On Tuesday, Connecticut recorded 538 new cases out of 13,039 tests — a positivity rate of 4.1 percent, the highest the state has seen since June.
The seven-day average positivity rate stood at 2.5 percent as of Tuesday. The daily positivity rate was just over 2 percent on Monday, while the seven-day rate stood at 2.4 percent.
The state’s seven-day average of 16.5 cases per 100,000 is still short of the national 21.5 new cases per 100,000 as of Monday — the most recent data available — but Connecticut’s figure is catching up.
Six more deaths attributed to the virus were reported on Tuesday, bringing the
statewide death toll to 4,595.
“We’re seeing in Connecticut what the rest of the country has been experiencing.” said Dr. David Hill, Quinnipiac University’s senior medical adviser on COVID-19 and a professor of medical science.
He said there are several possible reasons the state’s caseload is increasing, “but I think it’s really people getting tired of doing prevention.”
Testing could reveal more cases, but “we’ve been testing widely for a very long period of time now,” he pointed out.
New cases could also be spilling in from neighboring states — Rhode Island, for example, has a rate of 36 cases per 100,000, Hill pointed out.
“I think it’s related to Connecticut residents finding it difficult to wear face coverings and be socially distant — and that’s taking our whole country right now,” he said.
Lamont said there were 22 more hospitalizations as of Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 292.
Those numbers are still lower than other parts of the country, as the virus expands into rural areas.
Late Tuesday, the governor’s office announced California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania had been added to the list of travel advisory states where visitors will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
New Jersey and Rhode Island also meet the criteria, but a new executive order from the governor altered the travel advisory rules to prevent New York, New Jersey or Rhode Island from being added to the list.
“Given the interconnected nature of the region and mode of transport between the states,” the governor’s office said, those states would not be included. However, travel is still discouraged.
Danbury, one of the 19 municipalities marked as a red zone for the virus, recorded 50 new cases among residents in the past two days, Mayor Mark Boughton said.
In Norwalk, also on the state’s red list, Mayor Harry Rilling discouraged residents from taking part in trick-or-treating over the weekend.
“We are seeing a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, and while I understand there is quarantine fatigue, and people are itching for normalcy, no amount of candy is worth putting loved ones in jeopardy,” Rilling said in a prepared statement.
As the days get colder and more activities move indoors, people should be aware of the potential for the virus to spread through gatherings, “especially if people are not wearing masks,” according to Dr. David Banach, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at UConn Health.
“I think we should be cautious,” he said.
As for dining out in the coming months, outdoors remains the best option.
“Indoors, I think every person needs to make their own individual choice,” he said.
If people do choose to eat at an indoor restaurant, they should consider “what the dining environment is like,” including watching out for crowds and ensuring tables are spaced apart, Banach said.
Lamont spoke Tuesday during a news conference with Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and other officials next to an absentee ballot dropoff box in West Hartford to mark the last day to register to vote before Election Day.
Merrill said the state has reached about 2.3 million active registered voters — the most since 2008.
Merrill said while all polling locations have personal protective equipment and will be sanitized ahead of Election Day, no one can be forced to wear a mask to vote.
“We, by law, cannot refuse anyone the right to vote,” Merrill said. “We are strongly encouraging people to come with masks.”
She said if someone forgets a mask or doesn’t wear one, they will be offered one by poll workers. If they are insistent that they cannot or will not wear a mask, Merrill said, the voter will be accommodated as best as possible.
“But they will not be allowed to endanger anyone else,” Merrill said.
Sue Larsen, president of the Registrar of Voters Association in Connecticut, said each polling location has been given a PPE kit with face masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. She said voters can expect to see things like one-time use pencils and disposable pens. She said cleaning will be done regularly.
Lamont urged all voters to feel confident in their vote, regardless of whether it’s done through the mail or in person.
“We’re doing everything we can to show you your vote counts, it matters and it’s being cast with integrity,” he said.