Just over 1% of Connecticut’s COVID-19 tests came back positive Wednesday, state numbers show, in the latest sign that the state’s coronavirus transmission has increased slightly in recent weeks.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday announced 135 new cases of COVID-19 out of 11,257 tests, for a rate of 1.2%. The state’s positive test rate has now cleared 1% for more than a week straight, marking the first time since June that has happened.
Despite that increase, Connecticut’s rate of new cases and test positivity rate remain lower than those of most other states. Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday he’s not overly concerned about the uptick, which he called “not totally unexpected.”
“We figured with colleges coming back and students, there’ll be more chance for intermingling, people coming from infected state to Connecticut to go to UConn,” Lamont said. “But I’d say a half a percentage point increase, I feel pretty good compared to what I see in other states.”
Connecticut currently has 70 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, down one from Tuesday after several days of increase. Hartford County’s hospitalizations in particular have nearly doubled over the past week, leaving the area with more patients than any other Connecticut county, though still a fraction of its total from earlier in the pandemic.
Experts have predicted Connecticut’s cases will increase in coming weeks and months due to students returning to school, events moving inside and residents growing tired of abiding by pandemic-related restrictions.
The state reported two additional coronavirus-linked deaths Wednesday, bringing its total during the pandemic to 4,487. According to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University, the United States has now seen 196,436 deaths due to COVID-19.
UConn adds more off-campus cases
UConn announced only one additional COVID-19 case Wednesday among students who live on campus in Storrs but 16 among students who live off-campus, continuing a recent trend.
Of the 16 students who have tested positive since Tuesday, 11 were already in quarantine and seven lived in The Oaks apartment building, whose residents have all been asked to isolate for 14 days.
UConn currently has 33 students in isolation beds on the Storrs campus, with 212 beds available.
Wednesday marked the end of quarantine for UConn’s Garrigus Suites, where students had been required to isolate for 14 days.
“After careful monitoring and compliance, we have achieved our goal of halting the spread of the virus in Garrigus,” Eleanor Daugherty, UConn’s dean of students, wrote in an email to students. “This is a heroic undertaking for everyone. Together, we flattened the curve.”
Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.
