LYME/OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Thursday, July 15, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT-DPH) for data as at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, shows that Lyme has reported two new confirmed COVID-19 cases. This takes Lyme’s cumulative total of confirmed cases to 111, while Old Lyme’s holds steady at 342.
The report issued Thursday, July 15, 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 (see map above) shows rather distressing results, somewhat reflecting the national situation.
One town, Franklin, has re-entered the Red Zone (indicating the highest rate of COVID-19 new cases) and another two, Salem and Andover, have re-entered the (second highest rate) Orange Zone.
New Hartford remains in the Yellow Zone (indicating the lowest but one rate of COVID-19 new cases) but has been joined by Griswold. Last week, the sole town in the Yellow Zone was New Hartford.
In this most recent report, all the remaining 163 towns in Connecticut, including Lyme and Old Lyme, are in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone for two-week new case rates. It is the ninth week in succession for Old Lyme in that Zone, while Lyme is in the Gray Zone for a 17th straight week.
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.
The map below is from July 8, when New Hartford was the sole town in the Yellow Zone.
The map below is from July 1, when Marlborough and Prospect were in the Yellow Zone.
The map below is from June 24, when Somers, Prospect and Bolton were in the Yellow Zone.
This is the June 17 map, when just one town, Bolton, was in the Yellow Zone.
For comparison, the map below is from June 3 and shows one town, Waterbury, in the Orange Zone and 21 towns in the Yellow Zone, down from 48 the previous week. The towns in the Yellow Zone were: 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.
Below is the map from May 27 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.
In their final report dated July 9, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) issued their latest weekly report of COVID data for the municipalities within their District. LLHD has announced this report will no longer be issued.
Seven towns in the nine-town district (which includes Lyme and Old Lyme) now report less than five new cases in the past two weeks. Both Groton and New London reported six cases apiece. Last week, all nine towns reported 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 low numbers throughout our jurisdiction, and encourage everyone to get vaccinated!”
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 81.65 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 73.56 percent.
Percentages for the fully vaccinated are 78.2 for Lyme and 69.55 for Old Lyme.
These rates remain among the higher percentages in the state.
Erica Moser’s article in this morning’s Day was a fitting tribute to our public health partner, LLHD, and its dedicated staff. Unfortunately, the focus still needs to be on those shunning vaccination. Kris Magnussen’s quote (“most people don’t have a clue what we do; … as long as we’re doing our job “) was really on target. However, there were all those testing and vaccination sites where LLHD did show the public health flag.
In this “newest” pandemic of the unvaccinated, it seems that Arkansas, Missouri, and Florida are each designating themselves as the “New Molokai”.
The Day – Health district staff have worked long hours as the pandemic changed rapidly. Here’s what their lives were like. – News from southeastern Connecticut