Covid-19 Update – Jan 23, 2020

CT State Senator Tony Hwang (R-28) provides a Covid-19 Update – January 23, 2021

Clearing the Confusion over Current Vaccine Eligibility

In an effort to clear the confusion on current eligibility, this week Senator Tony Hwang hosted a panel of experts which included Sands Cleary from the Fairfield’s Health Department and members of Governor Lamont’s Covid-19 Vaccine Advisory Council.

In short, right now appointments for Individuals Older Than 75; Individuals 65+ Will Be Next, Followed by Individuals With a High-Risk Condition and Frontline Essential Workers; Vaccine Clinics in Congregate Settings Will Occur Throughout.

With nearly 1.4 million individuals included in Phase 1b of Connecticut’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the state anticipating to receive about 45,000 doses of vaccine per week from the federal government, Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is directing the Connecticut Department of Public Health to proceed through the remaining groups in the phase with a tiered approach based on risk of adverse health outcomes from the virus. The governor is directing the implementation be done in an equitable way, with vaccine distribution points focused in areas where residents and communities have barriers to access and care.

The tiered approach to Phase 1b will proceed as follows:

• Scheduling now: Individuals over the age of 75
• Scheduling next (likely early February): Individuals between the ages of 65 and 74
• Scheduling soon (likely late February or early March): Frontline essential workers and individuals with underlying medical conditions who have an increased risk for severe illness

The roll-out of the vaccine to staff and residents of congregate living settings will be phased in throughout Phase 1b.

More information about the definitions of frontline essential workers and the list of eligible underlying medical conditions will be made available in the next several weeks. You can find this information at ct.gov/Coronavirus or by calling 2-1-1.

Data updates on testing in Connecticut

The following is a summary of the day-to-day newly reported data on cases, deaths, and tests in Connecticut. It is important to note that these newly reported updates include data that occurred over the last several days to a week. All data in this report are preliminary, and data for previous dates will be updated as new reports are received and data errors are corrected.

County-by-county breakdown of current COVID-19 hospitalizations:

For a series of interactive graphs and maps that provide additional data, including metrics related to age, gender, and race/ethnicity, as well as data broken down by every town and city in Connecticut, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”

Weekly update on hospital capacity in Connecticut

The following document contains weekly data regarding hospital capacity in Connecticut. This report is issued each Friday.

Data updates on vaccine administration in Connecticut

The following data represents the total number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in Connecticut, as reported to the state as of today:

• First doses administered: 226,930
• Second doses administered: 31,337
• Total doses administered: 258,267

Connecticut is currently in phase 1b of its COVID-19 vaccination program. Right now under this phase, residents over the age of 75 can receive the vaccine. Soon, the phase will expand to include residents between the ages of 65 and 74, and residents between the ages of 16 and 64 who have underlying health conditions. Residents and staff of congregate settings and frontline essential workers will soon also become eligible during this phase.

Information on Connecticut’s COVID-19 vaccination program is available at ct.gov/covidvaccine.

Weekly update on the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes and assisted living facilities

The following documents contain the weekly data regarding each of the nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Connecticut that have reported positive cases of COVID-19 among their residents. The data is presented as it was reported to the state by each of the facilities.

Weekly update of the Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Alert Map: 164 municipalities in red zone alert level

The Connecticut Department of Public Health today released its weekly COVID-19 Alert Map, which indicates that 164 of 169 towns and cities in Connecticut are currently in the red zone alert level, the highest of the state’s four alert levels.

The only municipalities in the state that are not in the red zone this week are Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Norfolk, and Warren, all of which are in the gray alert level.

The red zone indicates municipalities that have an average daily COVID-19 case rate over the last two weeks of greater than 15 per 100,000 population. The orange zone indicates those that have case rates between 10 to 14 cases per 100,000 population. The yellow zone indicates municipalities that have case rates between 5 and 9 per 100,000 population, and those indicated in gray have case rates lower than five per 100,000 population.

The weekly alert map is also accompanied by a chart that provides guidance on recommended actions based on the alert levels for individual residents; institutions such as schools, houses of worship, and community organizations; and municipal leaders and local health directors.

The COVID-19 Alert Map is updated every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. and can be found in the Data Tracker page of the state’s coronavirus website at ct.gov/coronavirus.

Two more cases of COVID-19 variant identified in Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Public Health and the State Public Health Laboratory have confirmed that two more cases of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 have been detected in Connecticut. This is the same variant initially discovered in the United Kingdom.

Both of the newly identified cases are family members of one of the initial two individuals who were identified earlier this month through genomic testing to have the UK variant of the virus.

The Department of Public Health is continuing to work with the State Laboratory and partner surveillance laboratories to monitor for the presence of the variant in Connecticut.