Press Releases

02/16/2022

Governor Lamont Provides Update on Connecticut’s Coronavirus Response Efforts

Latest Data as of 3:00PM on Wednesday, February 16, 2022

(HARTFORD, CT) – As the State of Connecticut continues taking actions in response to the global spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Governor Ned Lamont provided the following updates as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 16, 2022:

Data updates on testing in Connecticut

The following is a summary of the day-to-day newly reported data on cases 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.

*The “total” column includes a batch of catch-up tests that date back to January 17, 2022. This includes 2,983 tests administered that resulted in 364 positive cases. This batch of catch-up data has no impact on the data shown in the “change since yesterday” column, including the daily positivity rate.

Of the 340 patients currently hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, 157 (46.2%) are not fully vaccinated.

For the week beginning January 30, 2022, unvaccinated persons had a 3.1x greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated persons.

For the week beginning January 30, 2022, unvaccinated persons had a 15.2x greater risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated persons.

Data on COVID-19 associated deaths is updated once per week every Thursday. The most recently reported total number of deaths is 10,219.

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.”

Update from the Connecticut Department of Public Health and Connecticut State Department of Education on planned February 28 elimination of the statewide school mask requirement

The Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Connecticut State Department of Education today announced that they are in the process of providing public health guidance for Connecticut’s schools in response to decreasing levels of COVID-19 in the state and in advance of the planned February 28, 2022, elimination of the statewide school mask requirement.

On February 28, the determination on whether to require masks in schools will be made at the local level.

The guidance will advise schools on how to manage COVID-19 safely as part of a routine disease prevention model and will be posted in the coming days.

The goal of this model is to support schools as they continue in-person learning with as few disruptions as possible. Once the guidance is finalized, it will be shared with all districts and schools throughout the state’s extensive network of superintendents, school medical advisors, school nurses, local school board members, local health directors, and others who make up the school ecosystem.

The school guidance will be posted at portal.ct.gov/dph and portal.ct.gov/sde.

Providing information to Connecticut residents

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus. Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 by dialing 1-800-203-1234. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.

Twitter: @GovNedLamont

Facebook: Office of Governor Ned Lamont

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