Photo by CDC on Unsplash.
LYME-OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report issued Tuesday, March 1, 2022, around 4 p.m. by the Connecticut Department of Health(CT DPH) shows a decrease by one of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Old Lyme and none in Lyme.
This means the cumulative case total for Old Lyme is now 1032 while the equivalent number in Lyme remains at 255. When the state records a reduction in cases, we assume that a previously recorded positive result has been corrected to negative. We have inquired several times if that is the case, but have not received a response to date.
The next Daily Data Report will be issued by the state Wednesday, March 2, around 4 p.m.
Local Summary
The most recent day when no new cases were reported in either Lyme or Old Lyme was Thursday, Feb. 24 — the previous time before that when no new cases were reported in either town was Thursday, Dec. 12, 2021.
On the other side of the equation, however, when looking at the weekly report dated Feb. 24 for the 10 member towns of the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD), Old Lyme has the highest Daily Case Rate at 33.2% with 34 cases reported in the past two weeks ending Feb. 24. Lyme, meanwhile, is in 7th place for Daily Case Rates at 18.5% with six cases reported in the past two weeks.
The next weekly LLHD report will be issued Thursday, March 3.
Statewide Situation
The state’s COVID-19 Daily Positivity Rate on Tuesday, March 1, fell marginally to 2.42% from 2.58% on Feb. 28
The number of COVID-related hospitalizations increased by 3 from 188 to 191.
Of those hospitalized, 89 (representing 46.6%) are not fully vaccinated.
The total number of COVID-related deaths in Connecticut increased by 6 to 10,471, according to the New York Times.
Statewide Data
In encouraging news, the Feb. 24 COVID Case Rate map shows that the total number of towns in the Red (highest) Zone for case rates has fallen by 66 since last week to 87. Twelve towns in the state are now in the Gray (lowest) Zone, 11 in the Yellow (lowest but one), and 59 in the Orange (highest but one) Zone.
This number of 87 is equivalent to 51.5% of towns in the state, which remain in the Red Zone.
All the towns in the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD), which include both Lyme and Old Lyme, are in the Red Zone.
Old Lyme is in the Red (highest) Zone for the 14th consecutive week: prior to this, the last time Old Lyme was in the Red Zone was Sept. 30, 2021. Of the 10 towns in the LLHD, Old Lyme has the highest Daily Case Rate at 33.2% with 34 cases reported in the past two weeks.
Lyme is in the Red Zone for the 12th week in succession. Of the 10 towns in the LLHD, Lyme has the 7th highest Daily Case Rate at 18.5% with six cases reported in the past two weeks.
The CT DPH will issue an updated map of the zones Thursday, March 3 — the map is updated weekly on Thursdays.
The color-coded zones are:
- Red: Indicates case rates over the last two weeks of greater than 15 per 100,000 population
- Orange: Indicates case rates between 10 to 14 cases per 100,000 population
- Yellow: Indicates case rates between 5 and 9 per 100,000 population
- Gray: Indicates case rates lower than five per 100,000 population
Extracts from the Feb. 24, 2022 CT DPH report
As of Feb. 23, 2022: (the number in parentheses is from Feb. 16, 2022)
- Number of cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated persons in Connecticut: 170,997 (167,783)
- Number of fully vaccinated persons in Connecticut: 2,655,982 (2,640,845)
- Percent of fully vaccinated persons, who have contracted COVID-19: 6.44% (6.35%)
For the week beginning Feb. 13, 2022: (the number in parentheses is from Feb. 06, 2022)
- Risk of unvaccinated persons testing positive for COVID-19 as compared to fully vaccinated persons: 2.9 x greater (3.1 x greater)
- Risk of unvaccinated persons dying from COVID-19 as compared to fully vaccinated persons: 8.4 x greater (18.1% x greater)
Increase in Cases in Lyme & Old Lyme Since August 2021
The cumulative total of confirmed cases for Old Lyme has now increased by 589 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 660 new cases there since that date. Meanwhile, Lyme’s cumulative total on Aug. 26 was 114 indicating 141 new cases have also been confirmed there during the same period.
Ledge Light Health District Update
All the towns in the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD), of which both Lyme and Old Lyme are members, are in the Red Zone. In the past two weeks, Lyme has had 6 new cases while Old Lyme has reported 34 — the previous week’s numbers were 18 and 53.
In an email sent Friday, Feb. 25, regarding the latest COVID-19 data, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) Director of Health Stephen Mansfield states, “Although the number of new cases and hospitalizations continues to decrease, we are still experiencing high average daily case rates, and a continued focus on preventing transmission is important.”
He continues, “Based on the current level of community transmission, both the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the CDC continue to recommend that everyone wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status.”
Finally, he states, “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 testing opportunities can be found at COVID-19 Testing | Ledge Light Health District (llhd.org)
The following link provides centralized access to Connecticut COVID data: https://data.ct.gov/stories/s/COVID-19-data/wa3g-tfvc/
The next Ledge Light update is due Thursday, March 3, 2022.
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
Four COVID-related fatalities have now 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 and fourth fatalities, which were reported respectively in 2021 and on Feb. 4, 2022, have not been made available.
Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Update
Under new state protocols for schools, Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools are no longer required to carry out contact tracing , but LOL Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser said in a Feb. 17 email to the school community that, “Through the end of March we will continue to send daily COVID-19 case numbers for those who are interested in tracking this information.”
He added, “Beginning in April, we will report these numbers on a weekly basis.”
A full listing of all LOL Schools-related cases during 2022 is given below.
This week is Winter Break for LOL Schools and so no further case reporting will be announced until Monday, Feb. 28, when no cases were reported. No new cases were reported on March 1.
Lyme-Old Lyme Schools closed Dec. 23, 2021 and reopened Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 after the winter break meaning no new cases were reported by the schools during that period. We are no longer including positive cases impacting LOL schools between Aug 26, 2021 (the first day of the 2021-22 academic school year) and Dec. 23, 2021 (the last day of school before winter break began), in this report. During that period contact tracing was still required.
View the full listing of cases during that period (8/26/21 – 12/23/21) at this link.
The listing below 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.
The following abbreviations are used in the lists below: LOLHS: Lyme-Old Lyme High School, LOLMS: Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, CS: MC: Mile Creek School, and Center School Pre-Kindergarten
Friday, Feb. 18
Total: LOLMS: 1, MC: 1
Thursday, Feb. 17
Total: 1, MC: 1
Wednesday, Feb. 16
Total: 6, LOLMS: 3
Monday, Feb. 14
Total: 6, LOLMS: 2, MC: 3, Lyme: 1
Sunday, Feb. 13
Total: 3, LOLMS: 2, MC: 1
Friday, Feb. 11
Total: 2, LOLHS: 1, CS: 1
Thursday, Feb. 10
Total: 2, Lyme: 1, CS: 1
Wednesday, Feb. 9
Total: 2, LOLHS: 1, MC: 1
Tuesday, Feb. 8
Total: 0
Monday, Feb. 7
Total: 3, Lyme: 1, MC: 1, CS: 1
Sunday, Feb. 6
Total: 2, LOLMS: 1, MC: 1
Friday, Feb. 4: Total: 5, LOLHS: 2, LOLMS: 1, MC: 2
Thursday, Feb. 3: Total: 1, Lyme: 1
Wednesday, Feb. 2: Total: 3, MC: 3
Tuesday, Feb. 1: Total: 1, MC: 1
JANUARY 2022
Monday, 1/31: Total: 2, LOLMS: 1, Lyme: 1
Sunday, 1/30: Total: 1, Lyme: 1
Friday, 1/28: Total: 3, LOLHS: 1, LOLMS: 1, MC: 1
Thursday, 1/27: Total: 3, LOLHS: 1, Lyme: 2
Wednesday, 1/26: Total: 3, LOLHS: 1, MC: 2
Tuesday, 1/25: Total: 4, LOLMS: 2, MC: 2
Monday, 1/24:Total: 9, LOLHS: 2, LOLMS: 1, Lyme: 1, MC: 4, CS: 1
Sunday, 1/23:Total: 3, LOLMS: 1, Lyme: 2
Friday, 1/21:Total: 8, LOLHS: 4, LOLMS: 2, MC: 2
Thursday, 1/20: Total: 5, LOLMS: 1, MC: 1, Lyme: 3
Wednesday, 1/19: Total: 7, LOLHS: 2, LOLMS: 4, CS: 1
Tuesday, 1/18: Total: 7, LOLHS: 3, LOLMS: 2, MC: 2
Monday, 1/17: Total: 6, Lyme: 4, MC: 2
Friday, 1/14: Total: 3, MC: 2, LOLHS: 1
Wednesday, 1/12: Total: 3, MC: 2, LOLMS: 1
Monday, 1/10: Total: 3, CS: 1, Lyme: 2
Sunday, 1/9: Total: 2, MC: 1, Lyme: 1
Friday, 1/7: Total: 1, MC: 1:
Thursday, 1/6: Total: 7, LOLHS: 5, Lyme: 1, CS: 1
Wednesday, 1/5: Total: 14, LOLHS: 6, MC: 1, Lyme: 3, CS: 4
Tuesday, 1/4: Total: 5, LOLHS: 4, CS: 1
LYME — All are welcome to join members of the First Congregational Church of Lyme when they gather outside the church Wednesday evening (March 2) at 6 p.m., near their newly dedicated peace pole, to prayer together for peace in Ukraine and around the world.
LYME/OLD LYME — As we know, both the CDC and Governor Lamont have determined that 