coronavirus pandemic

Half of Connecticut's Counties Now ‘High Transmission' Areas of COVID-19

The state’s public health agency is also reporting that people in the 20-29 years-old age bracket are registering the highest average daily rate of new COVID-19 cases in the state

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What to Know

  • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that eight of Connecticut's counties have a "high transmission level" of COVID-19.
  • Hartford, New Haven, and New London counties were previously listed as having high transmission, or 100 or more cases per 100,000 people or a positivity rate of 10% or higher over the past seven days. It’s the CDC’s most severe category.
  • The state’s public health agency is also reporting that people in the 20-29 years-old age bracket are registering the highest average daily rate of new COVID-19 cases in Connecticut.

Half of Connecticut’s eight counties are now identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has having a “high transmission” level of COVID-19, with the latest being Middlesex County.

Hartford, New Haven, and New London counties were previously listed as having high transmission, or 100 or more cases per 100,000 people or a positivity rate of 10% or higher over the past seven days. It’s the CDC’s most severe category.

The state’s other four counties — Windham, Tolland, Litchfield, and Fairfield — were still classified as being in the “substantial transmission” category as of Thursday evening. It is defined as 50 to 100 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people or a positivity rate of 10% or higher over the past seven days.

“With the ongoing rapid increase in cases of COVID-19 in the state over the last 14 days due to the spread of the Delta variant, the Connecticut Department of Public Health strongly recommends that ALL CONNECTICUT residents over age two years, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, return to wearing masks when in indoor public spaces,” the agency said in news release.

New state data indicate the number of confirmed cases of the delta variant in Connecticut increased from 360 last week to 540 as of Thursday. For the second week in a row, delta was the only variant identified in specimen collections.

The state’s public health agency is also reporting that people in the 20-29 years-old age bracket are registering the highest average daily rate of new COVID-19 cases in Connecticut. They are followed by those in the 30-39 bracket. To date, 63% of people 18-24 years old have received at least one vaccination shot, while 66% of those 25-34 and 75% of those 35-44 have received at least one one dose.

Three Connecticut cities establish new vaccine mandates. Lynda Baquero reports.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
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