Photo by CDC on Unsplash,

LYME/OLD LYME — The Daily Data Reports issued Monday, April 11, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) show one new confirmed COVID-19 case in Lyme, and none in Old Lyme. This number raises Lyme’s cumulative case total to 263 while Old Lyme’s holds at 1063.

The state’s COVID-19 Daily Positivity Rate continues to rise. On Monday, April 11, the rate increased to 5.5% from 5.27% on April 8 (Metrics are not reported by the state over the weekend.)

This rate of 5.5% is the state’s highest recorded COVID-19 Daily Positivity Rate since Feb. 15, 2022 when the Rate stood at 6.1%.

The New York Times headlines its The Morning newsletter today (April 12) with the words, “Coronavirus cases are up in the northeastern U.S. It’s uncertain if it’s the beginning of a larger surge.”

Amplifying the current confusion about COVID, the newsletter continues, “What is less clear is whether the regional rise will amount to a much larger Covid surge. “There’s definitely something coming,” William Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard, told [the newsletter writer]. “But depending on all the moving parts it might be a ripple relative to previous waves.”

The next Daily Data Report will be issued by CT DPH Tuesday, April 12, around 4 p.m.

Cases in Lyme and Old Lyme — Daily Update

April 5, 2022 was the most recent day on which no new cases were reported in either town.

Prior to March 25, Lyme had gone for 23 consecutive days with no new cases being reported. Two new cases were reported in Lyme on March 25.

Prior to April 5, the most recent day on which no new cases were reported in either Lyme or Old Lyme was March 24. There were also no new cases on March 9 and 4, and Feb. 24. The previous date prior to Feb. 24 when no new cases were reported in either town was Dec. 12, 2021.

Statewide Situation – Daily Update

On April 11, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations decreased from 117 to 104.

In contrast, on Jan. 12, 2022, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations was 1,939.

Of those hospitalized on April 11, the number not fully vaccinated was 41 (representing 39.42%).

The total number of COVID-related deaths in Connecticut is unchanged at 10,801, according to the New York Times.

Statewide Situation – Weekly Update

This map, updated April 7, 2022 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Old Lyme remains in the Orange (second highest) Zone while Lyme stays in the Gray (lowest) Zone. Twenty five towns (representing a total of 14.7% of the state) are now found in the Red 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.

On Thursday, April 7, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) released its latest weekly COVID-19 Alert Map (pictured above), which indicates that 25 municipalities are now in the Red (highest of four) Zone for case rates. The 25 towns are: Ashford, Chester, Clinton, Darien, Fairfield, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Guilford, Madison, Middlebury, Milford, New Canaan, New Haven, New London, North Haven, Ridgefield, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, South Windsor, Southbury, Westbrook, Weston, Westport, Wilton, and Woodbridge.

It is a point of concern that this number has increased by five from 20 since last week.

Although this total of Red Zone towns reflects an increase over last week’s number, it still shows a reduction in the number of Red Zone towns since  Jan. 27, when the total was 168 out of 169 towns.

The April 7 total of 25 is equivalent to 14.7% of towns in the state, which remain in the Red Zone.

As of April 7, 2022 the only town in the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) in the Red Zone is New London.

Three, including Old Lyme, remain in the Orange (second highest) Zone:- the other two are East Lyme and Waterford.

Three are in the Yellow (second lowest) Zone, namely Groton, Ledyard and Stonington, while Lyme and North Stonington remain in the Gray (lowest) Zone.

The LLHD is no longer issuing reports with updated Case Rates and other metrics.

The CT DPH will issue an updated map of the zones Thursday, April 14 — 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

Increase in Cases in Lyme & Old Lyme Since August 2021

The cumulative total of confirmed cases for Old Lyme has now increased by 620 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 691 new cases there since that date.

Meanwhile, Lyme’s cumulative total on Aug. 26 was 114 indicating 149 new cases have also been confirmed there during the same period.

Ledge Light Health District Update
New London is the only town in the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD), of which both Lyme and Old Lyme are members, in the Red (highest case rate) Zone.

The LLHD has announced that there will be no further weekly LLHD reports unless there are “any significant change in case rates, hospitalizations, etc.” The following details are therefore from the final LLHD update on March 24.

In an email sent Thursday, March 24, regarding the latest COVID-19 data, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) Director of Health Stephen Mansfield stated, “Based on surveillance data available in a new tool created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called COVID-19 Community Levels, the municipalities within Ledge Light Health District (and all of New London County) are currently classified as low, the “best” classification available based on these new metrics.”

He continued, “Community Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID cases in a specific geographical area. CDC recommends taking precautions to protect yourself and others from COVID based on Community Levels in your area.”

He added, “In New London County, residents are advised to:

• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
• Get tested if you have symptoms

View the new tool by following this link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html.

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/.”

An explanation of the new tool by Thomas Gotowka can be found at this link.

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/

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.

LOL Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser explained the latest developments in LOL Schools COVID protocols in an April 1 email to the school community, saying, “As noted in my email of February 17, 2022, beginning April 1, 2022 we will no longer report daily COVID-19 cases in the schools.  For the remainder of this school year, that information will be complied on a weekly basis and will be available on our website at the following link: https://www.region18.org/parents/covid-data.”

He added, “In light of the significant reduction in cases since our return from February vacation, we have slowly discontinued most COVID-19 mitigation strategies excluding required quarantine/isolation for those that test positive and enhanced building ventilation.  We are in the process of removing all remaining plastic shields from schools, students and staff no longer need to practice physical distancing, and large group gatherings are not limited in number.  Mask use still remains optional and handwashing will continue to be encouraged.”

A full listing of all LOL Schools-related cases during 2022 is given below.

View the full listing of cases between 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
Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, MC: Mile Creek School, and CS: Center School Pre-Kindergarten

MARCH 2022
Wednesday, March 30: Total: LOLHS: 2, Lyme: 1
Monday, March 28: Total: LOLHS: 2
Thursday, March 24: Total: LOLMS: 1
Wednesday, March 23: Total: LOLHS: 1, CS: 1
Tuesday, March 22: Total: Lyme: 1
Sunday, March 20: Total: LOLHS: 1
Wednesday, March 16: Total: LOLHS: 1
Monday, March 14: Total: CS: 1
Sunday, March 13: Total: LOLHS: 1
Thursday, March 3:  Total: LOLHS: 1
Wednesday, March 2: Total: LOLHS: 1

FEBRUARY 2022
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