Daily coronavirus updates: Connecticut’s hospitalizations tick up again; Positive test rate dips, but still well above 1%
Connecticut now has 110 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of three over the previous day and the highest number of hospitalizations recorded since late June, the state reported Friday.
After weeks of steadily low numbers, Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday that Connecticut is now “spiking up a little bit.” That spike has been apparent in both the hospitalization numbers and the state’s positivity rate — on Wednesday and Thursday, the state recorded positivity rates around 1.8%, which hadn’t been so high since mid-June.
The daily positive test rate on Friday dipped down to 1.36%, which is still well above the gold standard of 1% that the state had maintained for a number of weeks.
The state on Friday reported 460 new coronavirus cases, plus an additional 95 cases that were added as part of “catch-up reporting.” With those 95 cases — which were all from college campus testing sites and were identified in September — the state has now seen a total of 58,297 coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
Also on Friday, the state reported two additional coronavirus-related deaths. A total of 4,513 people have died with COVID-19 since March.
After recording unusually low COVID-19 numbers for a number of weeks, Connecticut’s coronavirus data began to show signs of shifting in mid-September, when the daily positivity rate jumped above 1%.
Even as the state’s coronavirus numbers continue to be high relative to the past couple months, Connecticut is also still moving toward the third phase of reopening. The third phase, which will allow for increased capacity at indoor dining areas and larger outdoor gatherings, is scheduled to begin on Oct. 8.
Lamont said Wednesday that he would reconsider the reopening plan if the state’s positivity rate moved up to 3% to 5%. Connecticut hasn’t recorded a positivity rate above 3% since June 6.
Emily Brindley can be reached at ebrindley@courant.com.
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