LYME/OLD LYME — UPDATED 06/05: The report issued Thursday, June 3, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) for the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks shows another dramatic improvement for the state as whole with not a single town remaining in the Red Zone (indicating the highest COVID-19 new case rates) and just one, Waterbury, in the Orange Zone.
Both Lyme and Old Lyme remain in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone for two-week new case rates. It is the fourth week for Old Lyme in that Zone, but Lyme is in the Gray Zone for a 12th straight week. It is very encouraging to see this number increase from 110 towns last week to 145 this week.
Neither Lyme nor Old Lyme reported any new cases in the June 3 report meaning Lyme holds steady at 107 cases and Old Lyme at 342, and in more good news, no COVID-19 deaths have been reported statewide in the past two days.
Twenty-one towns are now in the Yellow Zone, down from 48 last week. They are: Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bloomfield, Brooklyn, Coventry, Cromwell, Derby, East Hartford, East Haven, Granby, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Putnam, Rocky Hill, Shelton, Waterford and Windsor.
- 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.
- The Yellow 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 between five and nine reported cases.
- The Orange 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 between 10 and 14.
- 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.
In all cases, this rate does not include cases or tests among residents of nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.
Below is the map from last week that showed one town in the Red Zone, Putnam, and 10 towns in the Orange Zone.
Compare the maps above with the one we published Dec. 18, 2020 to see the remarkable progress that has been made with controlling the spread of the virus through expansion of vaccination rates and improved mitigation strategies.
Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) also issued their latest weekly report of COVID data for the municipalities within their District.
Lyme, Old Lyme and North Stonington remain the only towns in the nine-town district, which are reported to have less than five new cases in the past two weeks.
Ledge Light Director of Health Stephen Mansfield prefaces the report with the comment, “We are happy to see a continued decrease in the number of new cases throughout our jurisdiction and encourage everyone to get vaccinated!”
Mansfield also notes, “The demand for vaccine is declining, and many providers are reporting that they have unfilled vaccination appointments at scheduled clinics. At this time, LLHD is vaccinating all individuals 18 and older.”
He adds, “Information regarding vaccination opportunities and other relevant information can be found at https://llhd.org/coronavirus-covid-19-situation/covid-19-vaccine/
The following link provides centralized access to Connecticut COVID data: https://data.ct.gov/stories/s/COVID-19-data/wa3g-tfvc/
Vaccination rates in Lyme and Old Lyme are also extremely encouraging with 80.22 percent of the population in Lyme having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and the equivalent number for Old Lyme being 71.63 percent.
These are some of the highest percentages in the state.