‘New London County has moved into the category of “substantial transmission”’ (Deidre S. Gifford, MD, MPH, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Health and Human Services, and Acting Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner)
LYME/OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Thursday, July 29, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT-DPH) for data as at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 28, shows the latest average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks (see map above.)
The picture is distressing, reflecting national trends, with four towns now in the Red (highest case rate) Zone and four in the Orange (second highest) Zone. See detailed description of the zones in italics below.
The towns in the Red Zone are Harland, Salem, Bozrah and Sprague. The towns in the Orange Zone are Easton, East Hampton, Ledyard and Thompson.
Old Lyme has reentered the Yellow (second lowest) Zone along with more than 50 other Connecticut towns. All remaining towns in the state, including Lyme, are in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone. This is the 19th straight week that Lyme is in the Gray Zone.
This same report issued Thursday, July 29, also shows that Old Lyme has reported one new confirmed COVID-19 case. This takes Old Lyme’s cumulative total of confirmed cases to 351, while Lyme’s holds steady at 112.
In breaking news, Ledge Light Director of Health Stephen Mansfield sent out a statement at 8:10 a.m. this morning from Deidre S. Gifford, MD, MPH, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Health and Human Services, and Acting Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner, which states, “According to new guidance released by CDC this week, all individuals over the age of 2 years—whether vaccinated or unvaccinated—in counties with substantial transmission of COVID-19 should wear masks in public indoor spaces.
As of today, Hartford, New Haven and New London Counties have moved into the category of “substantial transmission” per the CDC classification system. The Connecticut Department of Public Health strongly recommends that individuals who live in, work in, or are visiting towns located in Hartford, New Haven or New London County follow this recommendation.”
Mansfield said yesterday in a different communication, “The increase in COVID transmission in New London County is cause for concern.”
- 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 22, when two towns, Franklin and Salem, were in the Red Zone (indicating the highest rate of COVID-19 new cases), which is up one from the previous week, and Andover remained in the (second highest rate) Orange Zone (down from two towns last week.)
Eight towns were in the Yellow Zone (indicating the lowest but one rate of COVID-19 new cases), which is up from two last week. They were Clinton, East Hampton, Manchester, Newington, Stonington, Westbrook, Windsor and Windsor Locks.
The map below is from July 15, when one town, Franklin, was in the Red Zone (indicating the highest rate of COVID-19 new cases) and another two, Salem and Andover, were in the (second highest rate) Orange Zone. New Hartford and Griswold were in the Yellow Zone (indicating the lowest but one rate of COVID-19 new cases.)
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.
Vaccination rates in Lyme and Old Lyme are encouraging with 82.47 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 74.17. percent.
Percentages for the fully vaccinated are 79.23 for Lyme and 70.79 for Old Lyme.
These rates remain among the higher percentages in the state.
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/