Huge Drop: Many More CT Towns Vanish From Coronavirus Red Zones

CONNECTICUT — The number of communities falling within the state's red alert level for coronavirus infections has taken a significant drop.

From 97 municipalities last week, the number of towns n the red zone has dropped to just 54.

During a news conference Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont attributed the fall-off in infections to the roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine.

"A lot of those towns in the upper northwest that had the highest vaccination rates have the lowest infection rates," Lamont said, referring to the state's latest Coronavirus Alert Level map.

The area in and around the Naugatuck valley has the highest infection rates. Lamont described those towns as "the least likely to get vaccinated."

Towns fall into the red zone when average daily cases exceed 15 per 100,000 population over a two-week average. There are now 97 of 169 towns still in the red zone.

The color codes correspond to guidance from the state Department of Public Health about various activities.

Orange (10-14): Ashford, Beacon Falls, Berlin, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bloomfield, Bolton, Branford, Brookfield, Canterbury, Canton, Cheshire, Coventry, Danbury, Ellington, Fairfield, Farmington, Goshen, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Harwinton, Lebanon, Litchfield, Madison, Mansfield, Montville, New Canaan, New Milford, North Canaan, North Haven, North Stonington, Old Saybrook, Oxford, Redding, Ridgefield, Salem, Simsbury, South , indsor, Sprague, Stafford, Suffield, Thompson, Vernon, Voluntown, Waterford, Westbrook, Wethersfield, Wilton, Winchester, Windsor, Windsor Locks and Woodstock

Yellow (5-9): Avon, Brooklyn, Clinton, Colchester, Columbia, Darien, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Lyme, Easton, Glastonbury, Granby, Griswold, Killingworth, Ledyard, Marlborough, New , airfield, New Hartford, Newington, Old Lyme, Portland, Preston, Rocky Hill, Somers, Southbury, Stonington, Tolland, West Hartford, Woodbridge and Woodbury

Gray (less than five): Andover, Bozrah, Bridgewater, Canaan, Chaplin, Chester, Colebrook, Cornwall, Deep River, East Granby, Essex, Franklin, Hampton, Kent, Lisbon, Lyme, Middlefield, Norfolk, Pomfret, Roxbury, Salisbury, Scotland, Sharon, Union, Warren, Washington, Weston, Westport and Willington

There were no COVID-19-related deaths this past week in nursing homes, nor in any of the state's assisted long-term care facilities.

See Also: Town-By-Town: Coronavirus Vaccinations, Infections In Connecticut

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The number of Connecticut students infected with the coronavirus fell 166 cases in the past week, to 365, a 31 percent drop. The number of infections among school district staff also fell, by six cases, to 38.

The number of schools with students attending in-person fell by 37 percent, to 219.