LYME/OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Friday, March 19, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT-DPH) for data as at 8:30 p.m., Thursday, March 18, shows that cumulative cases (confirmed and probable) since the pandemic began INCREASED by TWO in Old Lyme to 299 and by ONE in Lyme to 92 when compared with the numbers reported Thursday, March 18.

The next CT DPH Daily Data Report for Connecticut will be issued in the afternoon of Monday, March 22.

Old Lyme – Cumulative Cases Up Two

The report shows that Old Lyme has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 292 confirmed COVID-19 cases and SEVEN probable cases, making a TOTAL of 299 cases.

This represents an increase of two in the cumulative number of confirmed cases compared with those reported Thursday, March 18 and no change in the cumulative number of probable cases.

The total number of Old Lyme residents tested is 4,856, an increase of 17 over the number of 4,839 reported Thursday.

Lyme – No Change in Cumulative Cases

Lyme has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 85 confirmed cases and 7 probable cases, making a TOTAL of 92 cases.

This represents an INCREASE of ONE  in the cumulative number of confirmed cases and NO CHANGE in the number of probable cases compared with those reported Thursday, March 18.

The total number of Lyme residents tested is 1,307, an increase of three over Wednesday’s number of 1,304.

Old Lyme Moves Back into Orange (Second Highest) Zone for Two-Week New Case Rate, Lyme Drops to Gray (Lowest) Zone

The report issued Friday, March 19, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) for the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks contains good news for Lyme but bad news for Old Lyme.

This report is issued daily, but only updated weekly on Thursdays. The most recent report was updated Thursday, March 11; the next updated report will be issued in the afternoon of Thursday, March 25.

It shows that Old Lyme has moved back into the Orange (second highest) Zone for two-week new case rates, but Lyme has fallen into the Gray (lowest) Zone.

Last week, Old Lyme was in the (second lowest) Yellow Zone and so this change reflects an increased two-week case rate over the previous week. In contrast, Lyme was in the ‘Red Zone’ — the category with the highest rate of new cases — last week and has now dropped to the lowest. (Four zones are specified by the CT DPH — see details below)

Overall, the report contains mixed news for the whole state with the number of towns in the Gray and Yellow Zone decreasing this week (the previous week’s figures are shown in parentheses), but the Orange Zone shows an increase:

• 22 (25) towns are now in the (lowest case rate) Gray Zone
• 9 (11) are in the (lowest but one) Yellow Zone
• 33 (30) are in the (second highest case rate) Orange Zone.

All the remaining towns are in the Red Zone, but this still represents an obvious improvement from the map published in November when every town in the state was in the Red Zone. The numbers are concerning however, in that the trend appears to be that cases are not continuing to decrease at this point.

Lyme joins 21 other towns in the Gray (lowest rate)  Zone including Ashford, Bozrah, Bridgewater, Canaan, Chaplin, Colebrook, Cornwall, Eastford, Franklin, Goshen, Hampton, Hartland, Kent, New Canaan, North Stonington, Norfolk, Pomfret, Scotland, Union, Voluntown, and Warren.

The Yellow (second lowest rate) Zone includes Barkamsted, Colchester, East Windsor, Essex, Lisbon, Portland, Simsbury, Somers and Willington.

• The gray category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is less than five or less than five reported cases.
• The yellow category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is between five and nine reported cases.
• The orange category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is between 10 and 14.
• The red category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town exceeds 15.

In all cases, this rate does not include cases or tests among residents of nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.

This report is issued daily, but only updated weekly on Thursdays. The most recent report was updated yesterday, Thursday, March 11; the next updated report will be issued in the afternoon of Thursday, March 25.

More Detail on Two-Week Case Rates

LLHD Director of Health Stephen Mansfield

On Thursday, March 18, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) also issued their latest weekly report of COVID data for the municipalities within their District. Ledge Light Director of Health Stephen Mansfield prefaces the report with the comment, “We continue to see relatively steady case numbers within our jurisdiction.”

He stresses, however, “Although we are making great strides with our COVID vaccination program, it is still imperative that we remain diligent in our mitigation strategies.”

The latest two-week case rates announced Thursday, March 18, for the period 2/28 to 3/13 per 100,000 population (compared with the previous two-week case rate for 2/21 to 3/06) have increased in Old Lyme and decreased in Lyme.

The two-week case rates are as follows:

• Old Lyme from 6.8 to 13.6
• Lyme from 18.3 to 9.2

The same report shows that the case numbers in Week 1 and Week 2 respectively and recorded for the period 2/28 to 3/13  (compared with the previous two-week case rate for 2/21 to 3/06 shown in parentheses) are as follows:

• Lyme had 3 (3) cases in Week 1 and 0 (3) in Week 2
• Old Lyme had 5 (2) cases in Week 1 and 9 (5) in Week 2

This data was updated March 18, 2021. The next Ledge Light Weekly Data Report for its District will be issued in the afternoon of Thursday, March 25.

Vaccination Rates

At the request of several readers, we have started a new section today reflecting the status of community vaccination rates in Lyme and Old Lyme. The data is taken from the COVID-19 Vaccinations by Town report published by CT-DPH, which is published roughly weekly.

Old Lyme is ahead of Lyme in terms of the percentage of its total population that have received a first dose, with 42.02 percent vaccinated compared with 34.59 percent in Lyme. The percentages for both towns for the age segments 65-74 and 75+ are very encouraging with Old Lyme now having 100.38 percent of seniors 75 and above having received their first dose and 75.18 percent of the same age segment having received it in Lyme. Editor’s Note: We are skeptical of these figures for Lyme since they show the numbers vaccinated decreasing compared with last week. We are investigating further.

The detailed data below is the most recent and was updated March 15.

Old Lyme
Total population:  7,306
Estimated population age 65-74:  1,067
Estimated population age 75 and above:  794

Total population 1st dose administered: 3070 (2626)
1st dose administered as % of total population:  42.02% (35.94%) 

1st dose administered age 65-74:  1,027 (945)
1st dose administered as % of age 65-74 population:  96.25% (88.57%)

1st dose administered age 75 and above:  797 (764)
1st dose administered as % of age 75 and above population:  100.38% (96.22%)

Lyme
Total population:  2,316
Estimated population age 65-74:  372
Estimated population age 75 and above:  274

Total population 1st dose administered: 801 (767)
1st dose administered as % of total population:  34.59% (33.12%)

1st dose administered age 65-74: 269 (281) 
1st dose administered as % of age 65-74 population: 72.31% (75.54%)

1st dose administered age 75 and above: 206 (229)
1st dose administered as % of age 75 and above population: 75.18% (83.58%)

Three Fatalities in Old Lyme Since Pandemic Began, None in Lyme

According to the report mentioned above, there have now been THREE fatalities in Old Lyme. Asked Tuesday, Feb. 9, for details of this third fatality, Ledge Light Health Department Director of Health Stephen Mansfield responded, “We have not been notified of any recent deaths in Old Lyme. Keep in mind that that report is compiled by the Connecticut Department of Public Health; deaths are not reportable to local health districts.”

He added, “I can’t speak for their data sources.”

The two fatalities from Old Lyme previously reported in 2020 were a 61-year-old female and an 82-year-old male.

No fatalities have been reported in Lyme.

Connecticut Hospital Occupancy

At the request of several readers, we are adding a new report today showing the respective rates of hospital occupancy at local hospitals. The data for this report is obtained from the Connecticut Hospital Occupancy Report published weekly by the CT DPH and extracted from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) facility-level data for hospital utilization aggregated on a weekly basis (Friday to Thursday).

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Editor’s Note: The state issues a COVID-19 metric report daily around 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, which includes current data up to the previous evening. In light of the ongoing rise in Coronavirus cases, we publish a new weekday update reporting confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Lyme and Old Lyme.