HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut reported a 24% COVID-19 test positivity rate Tuesday, surpassing a record set Monday, while also setting a new high mark for cases recorded in a single day.
The state’s seven-day positivity rate now stands above 20% for the first time since widespread testing began more than 18 months ago, and its seven-day rate of new cases remains higher than at any other time during the pandemic.
Still, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday he doesn’t think COVID-19 should dramatically disrupt life in Connecticut.
“I know, 24% infection, oh my gosh, but I think we have the tools now to continue living our life despite COVID, and I think we can continue living our life safely,” Lamont said Tuesday morning. “Twenty-four percent infection rate is lousy and may get worse before it gets better. But we have the tools in place, provided you take advantage of the tools ... to keep you safe and keep going about our lives.”
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Connecticut have surged in recent weeks as cold weather has pushed gatherings indoors and the omicron variant has spread through the state. As of Monday, Connecticut had 1,452 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, up from fewer than 200 at the end of October and the most at a time since May 2020.
Hartford HealthCare officials said Tuesday that the number of patients in intensive care units and on ventilators has not increased quite as quickly, a sign that most COVID-19 patients are not as sick as those in earlier waves. Some patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were admitted for other reasons before testing positive for the disease, officials said.
“Even though our hospitalized numbers are higher, our ICU and ventilated numbers are much lower as compared to last year,” Dr. Ulysses Wu, Hartford HealthCare’s chief epidemiologist said.
Nevertheless, Dr. Kenneth Robinson, chairman of emergency medicine at Hartford Hospital, said the hospital’s emergency room has seen a 25% to 30% increase in daily patients over recent weeks, stretching staff and resources.
“Generally we average about 300 patients a day, and over the last week to 10 days we are averaging about 400 patients a day,” he said. “So a really significant increase in the number of patients coming to the Hartford Hospital emergency department each day.”
In response, Robinson said, the hospital has prioritized treatment for patients with the most serious health issues.
“The highest acuity patients will not wait,” he said.
As of Monday, 68% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide were unvaccinated, according to official numbers. That figure does not include people who received their initial vaccination but not a booster.
Connecticut’s rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations comes despite the fact that the omicron variant, which is now dominant in the state, is believed to cause less severe illness in most patients. Wu offered two explanations for this apparent contradiction:
“Just by the sheer number of cases you’re going to have an increase in hospitalizations as well,” Wu said.
Unvaccinated residents have been about three times as likely to test positive in recent weeks as vaccinated residents, according to state numbers.
All eight Connecticut counties — along with nearly the rest of the country — are currently recording “high” levels of COVID-19 transmission as defined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With this level of transmission, the CDC advises people to wear a mask in public indoor settings.
Connecticut reports COVID-19 deaths on Thursdays. Last week, the state recorded 83 deaths, bringing its total during the pandemic to 9,160.
As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have surged in Connecticut over recent weeks, deaths have risen but still remain far below the levels recorded last winter.
The United States has now recorded 828,344 COVID-19 deaths, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
As of Thursday, 88.6% of all Connecticut residents and 95% of those 12 and older had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, while 74.6% of all residents and 83.6% of those 12 and older were fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Additionally, about 41.6% of fully vaccinated Connecticut residents 18 or older have received a booster dose.
The CDC warns that booster shots are sometimes misclassified as first doses, likely inflating the reported number of first-dose coverage and understating the true number of people who have received boosters.
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