LYME/OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Monday, April 5, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT-DPH) for data as at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 4, shows that Old Lyme reported an increase of one new COVID-19 case over the number reported Friday, April 2. Lyme, however, held steady at the same number of cases as Friday.
Old Lyme reported a total of 314 cases, while, for the third reporting day in a row, Lyme had a total of 97 cumulative cases
These Daily Reports are not issued by CT DPH on Saturday or Sundays and therefore Monday’s data includes new cases from both weekend days.
Old Lyme – Cumulative Cases Up One
TheDaily Data Report for Connecticut issued Monday, April 5, by the CT-DPH for data as at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 4, shows that Old Lyme has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 307 confirmed COVID-19 cases and SEVEN probable cases, making a TOTAL of 314 cases.
This represents an INCREASE of ONE in the cumulative number of confirmed cases and NO CHANGE in the cumulative number of probable cases compared with those reported Friday, April 2.
The total number of Old Lyme residents tested is 4,970, an increase of 22 over Friday’s number of 4,948.
Lyme – No Change in Cumulative Cases
Lyme has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 89 confirmed cases and 8 probable cases, making a TOTAL of 97 cases.
This represents NO CHANGE in the cumulative number of confirmed or probable cases compared with those reported Friday, April 2.
The total number of Lyme residents tested is 1,341, an increase of six over Friday’s number of 1,335.
Two-Week New Case Rates Make Depressing News for State, Local Towns
The report issued Friday, April 2, by the CT DPH for the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks contains distressing news for the whole state. This report is issued daily, but only updated weekly on Thursdays. The most recent report was updated Thursday, April 1; the next updated report will be issued in the afternoon of Thursday, April 8.
There are now 146 towns in the state in the Red (highest) Zone for two-week new case rates and these include Old Lyme, which remains in that Zone for the second week in succession.
Lyme, however, is one of only 13 towns in the state in the Gray (lowest) Zone for two-week case rates, recording a third straight week in the lowest zone. (Four zones are specified by the CT DPH — see details below.)
Emphasizing the seriousness of the current situation, the Hartford Courant has today published an article by Alex Putterman titled, Seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate hits highest level in two months as variants spread in Connecticut; hospitalizations up
Overall, the state’s April 1 report contains disappointing news for the whole state with the number of towns in the Gray category staying constant and those in the Yellow and Orange Zones decreasing significantly this week (the previous week’s figures are shown in parentheses), reflecting a statewide increase in infection rates:
- 13 (13) towns are now in the (lowest case rate) Gray Zone
- 2 (5) are in the (lowest but one) Yellow Zone
- 8 (20) are in the (second highest case rate) Orange Zone.
All the remaining 146 towns are in the Red Zone, and the state as a whole is moving once again towards the map we published in November when every town in the state was in the Red Zone. The numbers are concerning in that the trend appears to be that cases are continuing to increase at this point.
Lyme joins only 12 other towns in the Gray (lowest rate) Zone: Ashford, Canaan, Chaplin, Cornwall, Eastford, Franklin, Hampton, New Canaan, Norfolk, Scotland, Sharon and Warren.
The Yellow (second lowest rate) Zone now has only two towns: Essex and Willington.
The Orange (second highest rate) Zone now has only eight towns, down from 20 in last week’s numbers: Chester, Columbia, East Haddam, East Hampton, Salisbury, Somers, Stonington, Vernon
- 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.
More Detail on Two-Week New Case Rates
LLHD Director of Health Stephen Mansfield
On Thursday, April 1, 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. Our contact tracers report clusters associated with daycares, schools, and workplaces, and transmissions linked to social gatherings and sporting events.”
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, April 1 (from 03/14 to 3/27) have remained constant in Old Lyme and increased in Lyme.
The two-week case rates are as follows:
- Old Lyme from 15.5 to 15.5
- Lyme from 9.2 to 12.2
The same report shows that the case numbers in Week 1 and Week 2 respectively and recorded for the period 3/14 to 3/27 (compared with the previous two-week case rate for 3/07 to 3/20 shown in parentheses) are as follows:
- Lyme had 2 (1) cases in Week 1 and 2 (2) in Week 2
- Old Lyme had 7 (9) cases in Week 1 and 9 (7) in Week 2
This data was updated April 1, 2021. The next Ledge Light Weekly Data Report for its District will be issued in the afternoon of Thursday, April 8.
Vaccination Rates
At the request of several readers, we have started a new section 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.
Lyme is now ahead of Old Lyme in terms of the percentage of its total population that have received a first dose, with 54.36 percent vaccinated compared with 48.63 percent in Old Lyme.
The percentages for both towns for the age segments 65-74 and 75+ are very encouraging with Lyme now having 105.47 percent of seniors 75 and above having received their first dose and 95.09 percent of the same age segment having received it in Old Lyme.
The detailed data below is the most recent and was updated April 1.
Old Lyme
Total population: 7,306
Estimated population age 65-74: 1,067
Estimated population age 75 and above: 794
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Lyme
Total population: 2,316
Estimated population age 65-74: 372
Estimated population age 75 and above: 274
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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 added a new report 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).
Since the most recent report is dated Feb. 19 and no subsequent updates have been issued, we have discontinued publishing this report until a new update is issued.
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.
