New London County's COVID cases up 30.7%; Connecticut cases holding steady

Mike Stucka
·4 min read

Connecticut reported 63,861 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, from 63,523 the week before of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Connecticut ranked 16th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 5.8% from the week before, with 5,438,242 cases reported. With 1.07% of the country's population, Connecticut had 1.17% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 39 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

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Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the latest week's statistics. That data is being compared to a week with backlogged cases and deaths from the New Year's holiday weekend. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

New London County reported 5,072 cases and 16 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 3,882 cases and 17 deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 45,088 cases and 555 deaths.

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Windham County reported 2,187 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 1,676 cases and 10 deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 21,657 cases and 258 deaths.

Within Connecticut, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in New Haven County with 2,105 cases per 100,000 per week; Fairfield County with 2,007; and New London County with 1,912. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

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Adding the most new cases overall were Fairfield County, with 18,936 cases; New Haven County, with 17,993 cases; and Hartford County, with 13,588. Weekly case counts rose in four counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in New Haven, New London and Windham counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Connecticut ranked 5th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 90.5% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 74.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Wednesday, Connecticut reported administering another 127,081 vaccine doses, including 36,136 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 129,280 vaccine doses, including 36,980 first doses. In all, Connecticut reported it has administered 6,870,425 total doses.

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Across Connecticut, cases fell in four counties, with the best declines in Hartford County, with 13,588 cases from 16,566 a week earlier; in Tolland County, with 1,217 cases from 1,536; and in Litchfield County, with 2,291 cases from 2,564.

In Connecticut, 179 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 217 people were reported dead.

A total of 637,572 people in Connecticut have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 9,556 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 65,699,947 people have tested positive and 850,605 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Connecticut's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 16.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 2,229

  • The week before that: 2,185

  • Four weeks ago: 1,003

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 203,221

  • The week before that: 185,954

  • Four weeks ago: 90,739

Hospitals in 41 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 43 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.
A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: New London County COVID cases increased by 5,072 this week