The state said today its Westport COVID-19 case count was up two at 396 (379 confirmed and 17 probable) and deaths unchanged at 23.
Eleven Connecticut towns and cities, including Hartford, currently qualify as COVID-19 hotspots, Gov. Ned Lamont said today, citing high levels of infections in those areas.
Officials in those municipalities, which are located mostly in the southeastern part of the state, now have the option to roll back their reopening processes, as outlined a recent executive order from Lamont.
The state also recommends those towns and cities cancel public events and “limit community gathering points” and that individuals there limit trips outside the home and gatherings with non-family members.
The municipalities in question, all of which have experienced at least 15 daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, are Hartford, Danbury, Norwich, New London, Canterbury, East Lyme, Griswold, Montville, Preston, Sprague, Windham.
Towns and cities with at least 25 daily cases per 100,000 residents (currently just Norwich and New London) are also recommended to “consider more distance learning” in K-12 schools.
The daily positivity rate of COVID tests statewide was 1.3%, a welcome drop after the first back-to-back days of 2% or more since June. The rolling seven-day average remained at 1.6%, and there were only three new hospitalizations.
“It’s bouncing around a little bit. A month ago, we were at 1%. The last couple of days were over 2%. Now we’re at 1.3,” Lamont said.
But the governor and his acting commissioner of public health, Dr. Deidre Gifford, said the big picture was clear and the trend relatively steady: COVID is an increasing threat as the weather cools, driving people indoors where transmission is easiest.
“This virus is extremely contagious, and it’s very easy to catch it,” Gifford said. “So, if you are in an indoor setting with somebody who’s not part of your household bubble, you can catch the virus from them even if they have no symptoms.”
Contact tracing in southeastern Connecticut has found no super-spreader events. Consistent with national trends, the culprits have been small social settings, places where people let down their guard and go without masks.
“The transmission we’re seeing is happening among friends and family and co-workers,” Gifford said.”It’s in settings that people might consider to be benign, because they are small and they are with people that they know.”
—CTMirrror.org contributed reporting
