LYME/OLD LYME — In his weekly COVID report issued last Thursday, Stephen Mansfield, Ledge Light Health Department Director of Health said “We are encouraged to see a moderate decrease in cases for the 2nd consecutive reporting period, and are hopeful that this trend will continue.”
His words echo the general view that, “The United States continues to see steep reductions in new cases. For the first time since November, the country is averaging fewer than 150,000 cases a day.”
The report issued Monday, Feb. 1, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) shows, however, that Old Lyme’s COVID-19 cumulative case numbers since the pandemic began increased by four to 260 over Friday’s number of 256. This reminds us that we are not out of the woods yet … by any means.
Encouragingly, Lyme’s cumulative total held steady at 74 in the same report, and last week (1/25 through 1/29) only five cases in total were reported in the town.
New Two-Week Case Rate Falls in Both Towns
The two-week case rate per 100,000 population announced Thursday, Jan. 28, fell in both Lyme and Old Lyme, decreasing in Lyme between 1/10 and 1/23 from 55.0 to 24.4 and in Old Lyme over the same period from 58.2 to 48.5.
The state issues a COVID-19 metric report daily around 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, which includes current data up to the previous evening.
Both Towns Still in ‘Red Zone’
The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Monday, Feb. 1, by the CT DPH for data as at 8:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 31, shows the following (note that Monday reports include data for the weekend as well as the previous Friday):
Both Lyme and Old Lyme are still in the state-identified ‘Red Zone’, where they have been for the past several weeks.
As of the Jan. 29 report, six towns in the state — Canaan, Cornwall, Colebrook, Norfolk, Scotland and Warren — are now in the ‘Gray Zone.’
- The red category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town exceeds 15.
- The gray category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is less than five or less than five reported cases.
In all cases, this rate does not include cases or tests among residents of nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.
Old Lyme – Confirmed Cases Up Four
Old Lyme now has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 255 confirmed COVID-19 cases and FIVE probable cases, making a TOTAL of 260 cases.
This represents an INCREASE of FOUR in the cumulative number of confirmed cases over the number reported Friday, Jan. 29, (251) and NO CHANGE in the number of probable cases over the number reported the same day.
The total number of Old Lyme residents tested is 4,419.
There have been two fatalities in Old Lyme.
New CT DPH Two-Weekly Report for Old Lyme Issued Jan. 28
The Jan. 28 report issued by CT DPH shows that during the two-week reporting period from 01/10/21 through 01/23/21, Old Lyme had 27 (33) cases in Week 1 and 23 (27) in Week 2. (The previous Week 1 and 2 figures are shown in parentheses.) This data was updated Jan. 28, 2021.
The case rate in Old Lyme for 100,000 population is 48.5, reflecting a decrease from the previously reported two-week rate of 58.2. A case rate of 15 or more cases per 100,000 population places a town in the state’s ‘Red Zone.’
Lyme – No Increase in Cases
Lyme has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 69 confirmed cases and FIVE probable cases, making a TOTAL of 74 cases.
This represents NO CHANGE in the number of confirmed or probable cases from the numbers reported Friday, Jan. 29.
There have been no fatalities in Lyme.
The total number of Lyme residents tested is 1,185.
New CT DPH Two-Weekly Report for Lyme Issued Jan. 28
The Jan. 28 report issued by CT DPH shows that during the two-week reporting period from 01/10 through 01/23/21, Lyme had 3 (14) cases in Week 1 and 5 (4) in Week 2. (The previous Week 1 and 2 figures are shown in parentheses.) This data was updated Jan. 28, 2021.
The case rate in Lyme for 100,000 population is 24.4 reflecting a decrease from the previously reported two-week-rate of 55.0. A case rate of 15 or more cases per 100,000 population places a town in the state’s ‘Red Zone.’
Connecticut Hospital Occupancy
At the request of several readers, we are adding a new report today showing the respective rates of hospital occupancy at local hospitals. The data for this report is obtained from the Connecticut Hospital Occupancy Report published weekly by the CT DPH and extracted from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) facility-level data for hospital utilization aggregated on a weekly basis (Friday to Thursday).
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Editor’s Note: In light of the serious rise in Coronavirus cases, we have started a new weekday update reporting confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Lyme and Old Lyme. The next CT DPH Daily Data Report for Connecticut will be issued in the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 2.