CT Coronavirus Milestone: Positivity Rate Drops Below 1%

CONNECTICUT — The state's recovery from the coronavirus hit another huge milestone, as the Connecticut Department of Public Health announced the positivity rate has dropped below 1 percent.

The daily infection rate of 0.93 percent is the lowest it has been in the state since Oct. 5, 2020.
Gov. Ned Lamont made the announcement during a news conference Thursday.

One week after the state got the go-ahead to administer the coronavirus vaccine to children aged 12-15, 20 percent of that population in Connecticut has gotten their first dose.

State Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said he was pleased and surprised by the "momentum" showed in the rollout of the vaccine to the newest, and youngest, age tier to become eligible for the jab. The state is working with family medical practices to enable them to provide the coronavirus vaccine to their patients during routine visits, he said.

Lamont said he was more concerned about getting the vaccine into the arms of those 20 to 35, who were lagging behind his expectations.

As of Thursday, 2,068,087 residents have received their first dose, 1,731,879 have been fully vaccinated and 3,670,711 total doses have been administered.

The town of Lyme has the highest percentage of its residents fully vaccinated, at 68.57 percent. About 75 percent of all state residents have had at least their first dose.

An additional 206 cases of the coronavirus were confirmed Wednesday in the state, bringing that total to 346,154.

Reported hospitalizations dropped by four beds overnight, according to the state Department of Public Health. That brings the number of those hospitalized with the virus to 141.

Coronavirus-associated deaths across the state rose by four on Tuesday. The COVID-19 death toll in Connecticut now stands at 8,208. Geballe said that the latest deaths from the virus have almost all been unvaccinated residents from the oldest age tier.

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