This map, updated Dec. 23, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Both Lyme and Old Lyme remain in the Red (highest) Zone. Only cases among persons living in community settings are included in this map; the map does not include cases among people who reside in nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.) Map: Ver 12.1.2020 Source: CT Department of Public Health Get the data Created with Datawrapper. Details in italics are the same for each of the maps included in this article.
LYME-OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report issued Thursday, Dec. 23, at 4 p.m. by the Connecticut Department of Health (CT DPH) shows seven new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Old Lyme taking that town’s total of cumulative cases to 578.
No new cases were reported in Lyme leaving their cumulative case total at 152.
The state does not issue reports over the weekend nor on public holidays (Friday, Dec. 24 was a state holiday), the next day that the Daily Data Report will be issued by the state is Monday, Dec. 27.
On Thursday, Dec. 23, Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser informed the school community that two positive cases of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS, a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLMS and a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Mile Creek had been reported.
In all cases, contact tracing was completed and those individuals, who needed to quarantine, were notified. They will be able to return to school following their quarantine period. All other students and staff continue to attend school as scheduled. (See below for a full listing of all LOL Schools-related cases.)
The news statewide is becoming even bleaker.
According to the weekly COVID-19 Average Daily Case Rate Report issued by the state on Dec. 23, the total number of towns in the Red (highest) Zone for case rates has increased from last week’s total of 164 to 166, leaving only three towns in the state not in the Red Zone. This number of 166 is equivalent to 98.2 percent of towns in the state (see map above.)
To demonstrate the speed of this current surge, the total number of towns in the Red Zone on Nov. 24, 2021 was 110. As further comparative points of reference, the week prior to Thanksgiving (Nov. 18, 2021), there were 67 towns in the Red Zone, on Oct. 7, 2021 the number was down to 37, and on July 8, 2021, there was not a single one.
Old Lyme is in the Red (highest) Zone for the fifth consecutive week: prior to these five weeks, the previous time Old Lyme was in the Red Zone was Sept. 30, 2021.
Lyme is in the Red Zone for the third week in succession.
The Dec. 23 report shows that two of the three towns in the Gray (lowest) Zone — Canaan and Norfolk — are in the northwest part of the state while the third, Roxbury, is in the west central region.
Details of the Zones are as follows:
- 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.
The CT DPH will issue an updated map of the zones Dec. 30 — the map is updated weekly on Thursdays.
All the towns in the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) remain in the Red Zone.
The cumulative total of confirmed cases for Old Lyme has now increased by 135 since Wednesday, Nov. 10, when the total stood at 443 — that number had stood unchanged for a week since the previous Thursday, Nov. 4.
On Aug. 26 — which was the day Lyme-Old Lyme Schools started the new academic year — Old Lyme’s cumulative case total stood at 372, meaning there have now been 206 new cases there since that date. Meanwhile, Lyme’s cumulative total on Aug. 26 was 114 indicating 38 new cases have also been confirmed there during the same period.
In an email sent Thursday, Dec. 23, regarding the latest COVID-19 data, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) Director of Health Stephen Mansfield stated, “We continue to see a high number of new COVID cases within our jurisdiction, which is consistent with an increase in COVID cases statewide. Unfortunately, we expect this trend to continue as we move into the holiday season.”
He continued, “It is imperative that we remain diligent in our mitigation strategies. We strongly advise everyone to continue to wear masks indoors in public settings, regardless of vaccination status.”
Mansfield concluded, “LLHD continues to focus our vaccination efforts on homebound populations and providing initial vaccinations and boosters to individuals who were vaccinated previously. Information about vaccination opportunities can be found at https://llhd.org/coronavirus-covid-19-situation/covid-19-vaccine/
COVID-19 Cases in Lyme-Old Lyme Schools
This is the latest information that we have with the most recent cases first — there may have been further updates, however, which we have not yet received.
On Thursday, Dec. 23, Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser informed the school community that two positive cases of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS), a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School (LOLMS) and a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Mile Creek School had been reported.
On Thursday, Dec. 16, Neviaser informed the school community that two separate positive cases of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS and Lyme School respectively had been reported.
On Monday, Dec. 13, Neviaser informed the school community that one positive case of COVID-19 impacting Mile Creek School had been reported.
On Thursday, Dec. 9, Neviaser informed the school community that a total of three positive cases of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School (LOLMS), Center School, and Lyme School had been reported.
On Monday, Dec. 6, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLMS had been reported.
On Friday, Dec. 3, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Center School had been reported.
On Thursday, Dec. 2, Neviaser informed the school community that two separate positive cases of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) had been reported.
On Monday, Nov. 30, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.
On Monday, Nov. 29, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Mile Creek School had been reported.
On Tuesday, Nov. 23, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.
On Monday, Nov. 22, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Mile Creek School had been reported.
On Thursday, Nov. 18, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.
On Wednesday, Nov. 17, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.
On Sunday, Nov. 14, Neviaser informed the school community that over the weekend a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.
On Wednesday, Oct. 20, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.
On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported the previous evening.
On Thursday, Oct. 23, Neviaser informed the school community of two intrafamilial positive cases of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School (LOLMS.) He stated, “We were able to complete our contact tracing and the one individual who must quarantine has been notified.”
On Thursday, Sept. 23, Neviaser informed the school community of two intrafamilial positive cases of COVID-19 impacting LOLMS. He noted, “We were able to complete our contact tracing and the one individual who must quarantine has been notified.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 22, Neviaser informed the school community of a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS.
On Thursday, Sept. 16, Neviaser informed the school community that a previously reported positive case of COVID-19 is now impacting Mile Creek School and Center School.
On Monday, Sept. 13, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19, which had been reported the previous day, was impacting LOLMS.
On Wednesday, Sept. 1, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 was impacting Mile Creek School.
On Tuesday, Aug. 31, Neviaser informed the school community that late on Monday, Aug. 30, a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.
On Saturday, Aug. 28, Neviaser informed the school community that late on Friday, Aug. 27, a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Lyme School had been reported.
In all cases, contact tracing was completed and those individuals who needed to quarantine were notified. They will be able to return to school following their quarantine period. All other students and staff will continue to attend school as scheduled.
Fatalities Due to COVID-19 in Lyme, Old Lyme
There has been one COVID-related fatality of a Lyme resident: a 57-year-old male passed away Nov. 16, 2021. On Nov. 30, the state finally included this fatality in its data
Three COVID-related fatalities have been reported in Old Lyme. The first two fatalities from Old Lyme, which were reported in 2020, were a 61-year-old female and an 82-year-old male.
Details of the third, which was reported in 2021, have not been made available.
COVID-19 Cases Over Time: Dec. 2020-Dec. 2021
This map, updated Dec. 16, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Both Lyme and Old Lyme remain in the Red (highest) Zone.
The following maps show has the picture of COVID-19 Average Daily Case Rates has gone from an almost totally red (highest rate) map back in Dec. 2020 to an almost all-gray (lowest rate) map on June 17, 2021, and back to almost completely red on Dec. 16, 2021 (see map above.)
Dec. 9, 2021
This map, updated Dec. 9, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Both Lyme and Old Lyme are in the Red (highest) Zone, joining 160 additional towns in that zone. The remaining seven towns are either in the Gray (six towns) or Orange (one town) Zones.
Dec. 2, 2021
This map, updated Dec. 2, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Old Lyme is in the Red (highest) Zone while Lyme is one of only six towns remaining in the Gray (lowest) Zone.
Oct. 14, 2021
This map, updated Oct. 14, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Old Lyme and Lyme are both in the Gray (lowest) Zone.
Both Lyme and Old Lyme are in the Gray (lowest) Zone, where Lyme has been since mid-September. The last time both towns were in the Gray Zone was July 22, 2021.
Sept. 23, 2021
This map, updated Sept. 23, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Both Lyme and Old Lyme have moved into the Red (highest) Zone.
Both Lyme and Old Lyme remained in the Red (highest) Zone for the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19. This was the third week in succession that both towns were in the Red Zone.
Statewide, there were 81 towns now in the Red Zone, which is three down from the previous week’s total of 84. On Sept. 2, the total was 91 so the trend was undoubtedly downward although it was still up significantly from the 39 reported on Aug. 12.
Sept. 2, 2021
This map, updated Sept. 2, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Lyme is still in the (lowest) Gray Zone, while Old Lyme has moved back down into the Yellow Zone.
The map above is from Sept. 2 when 91 towns were in the Red Zone, which is down one from 92 a week ago on Aug. 26, but still up significantly from 73 on Aug. 19, and 39 on Aug. 12.
Old Lyme had fallen to the Yellow (second lowest) Zone along with 10 other towns. This total of 11 towns is unchanged from last week, when Old Lyme was in the Orange Zone.
Lyme was in the Gray (lowest) Zone. This was the 24th straight week for Lyme in the Gray Zone. Again, this total of 20 towns in the Gray Zone was unchanged from last week.
Forty-seven towns were in the Orange (second highest) Zone.
Aug. 26, 2021
This map, updated Aug. 26, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Lyme is still in the (lowest) Gray Zone, while Old Lyme has moved back down into the Yellow Zone.
The map above is from Aug. 26, when Old Lyme was in the Orange (second highest case rate) Zone with a daily case rate per 100,000 of 10.8.
Eleven Connecticut towns were in the Yellow (second lowest) Zone down from 20the previous week. Locally, these included Deep River, Old Saybrook and Haddam.
The remaining 20 towns in the state, including Lyme, were in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone. This was the 23rd straight week for Lyme in the Gray Zone.
Aug. 19, 2021
This map, updated Aug. 19, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Lyme is still in the (lowest) Gray Zone, while Old Lyme has moved back into the Orange Zone.
The map above is from Aug. 19 when Old Lyme was back in the Orange (second highest case rate) Zone. Almost 50 towns in the state remained in the Orange Zone, which was around the same number as the previous week.
Less than 20 Connecticut towns were in the Yellow (second lowest) Zone down from 40 the previous week. Locally, these included including Deep River, Essex and East Haddam.
The remaining 20 towns in the state, including Lyme, are in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone. This was the 22nd straight week for Lyme in the Gray Zone.
Aug. 12
This map, updated Aug. 12, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Lyme is in the (lowest) Gray Zone, but Old Lyme is in the Yellow Zone.
The map above is from Aug. 12 and shows that Old Lyme had fallen out of the Orange (second highest case rate) Zone into the Yellow (second lowest) Zone — but only by a fraction.
Almost 50 towns were in the Orange (second highest case rate) Zone — up from 33 the previous week — including Westbrook and Salem locally.
Old Lyme joined the Yellow (second lowest) Zone along with around 40 other Connecticut towns, including Old Saybrook, East Lyme, and Essex.
All remaining towns in the state, including Lyme, along with Deep River and Chester, were in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone. This was the 21st straight week for Lyme in the Gray Zone.
Aug. 5
This map, updated Aug. 5, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Lyme is still in the (lowest) Gray Zone, but Old Lyme has moved into the Orange Zone.
The map above is from Aug. 5 when six towns were in the Red (highest case rate) Zone (the previous week’s number was four) and 33 in the Orange (second highest case rate) Zone — the previous week’s number was four, including Old Lyme.
East Lyme* had reentered the Yellow (second lowest) Zone along with more than 50 other Connecticut towns.
All remaining towns in the state, including Lyme*, were in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone. This was the 20th straight week for Lyme in the Gray Zone.
July 29, 2021
This map, updated July 29, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Lyme is in the (lowest) Gray Zone, but Old Lyme has moved into the Yellow Zone.
The map above is from July 29, when four towns were in the Red Zone –Harland, Salem, Bozrah and Sprague — and four towns were in the Orange Zone — Easton, East Hampton, Ledyard and Thompson.
Old Lyme had reentered the Yellow (second lowest) Zone along with more than 50 other Connecticut towns. All remaining towns in the state, including Lyme, were in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone. This was the 19th straight week for Lyme in the Gray Zone.
July 15, 2021
This map, updated July 15, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Both Lyme and Old Lyme are still in the (lowest) Gray Zone.
The map above is from July 15, when one town, Franklin, was in the Red Zone (indicating the highest rate of COVID-19 new cases) and another two, Salem and Andover, were in the (second highest rate) Orange Zone. New Hartford and Griswold were in the Yellow Zone (indicating the lowest but one rate of COVID-19 new cases.)
July 8, 2021
This map, updated July 8, 2021 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Both Lyme and Old Lyme are still in the (lowest) Gray Zone.
This map above dated July 8, shows New Hartford as the sole town in the Yellow Zone.
June 17, 2021
This map, updated June 17, shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Both Lyme and Old Lyme are in the (lowest) Gray Zone.
The map above dated June 17, shows when just one town, Bolton, was in the Yellow Zone.
Dec. 18, 2020
Map of Connecticut dated Dec. 17, 2020 showing both Lyme and Old Lyme now in the CT DPH-identified ‘Red Zone.’
LYME-OLD LYME — The 
