Governor Lamont Provides Update on Connecticut’s Coronavirus Response Efforts

(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 Monday, January 3, 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.

Of the 1,452 patients currently hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, 999 (68.8%) are not fully vaccinated.

For the week beginning December 19, 2021, unvaccinated persons had a 3.3x greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated persons.

For the week beginning December 19, 2021, unvaccinated persons had a 32.9x 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 9,160.

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.”

Connecticut Department of Public Health updates COVID-19 guidance for PreK-12 schools

The Connecticut Department of Public Health has released updated COVID-19 guidance for PreK-12 schools regarding quarantine, isolation, testing, and contact tracing policies and procedures.

The document was developed in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education and is based on the updated guidance that was released by the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention on December 27, 2021. This update outlines a set of optional policy and procedural changes that school districts may choose to implement at this time.

These options refocus the resources currently available to PreK-12 schools for COVID-19 prevention toward those activities most likely to reduce the risk of transmission and in consideration for quarantine and isolation for individuals testing positive for or exposed to someone with COVID-19.

This guidance reinforces the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s three-pronged approach to fighting this virus – vaccination, masking, and testing. These simple steps are crucial in decreasing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.

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.