Case Prevalence Per 10,000, By Town
For the week ending November 4
Well, it’s after the 2020 election, and, according to the president’s son, COVID-19 should be magically going away now. If only someone had bothered to inform the virus, because Connecticut is suffering through yet another awful week.
Gov. Ned Lamont issued an order to move us all back to phase two of reopening after the state’s test positivity rate went over 6% last Wednesday. It will unfortunately be a little while before we see any real dropping off of cases due to his order, if that dropoff happens at all.
Nationally, case numbers per day have been hitting record highs while the country is distracted with the election. The holidays, with large family gatherings, grow ever nearer on the horizon as scientists warn us of a very dangerous winter season.
There were 6,246 cases in the state between 10/28 and 11/4, which is dangerously close to the high of 7,314 we hit during the week of 4/19-4/26. Unless something changes, we’ll probably pass that mark soon.
Looking at the map, there’s no sugarcoating it. This week’s map is pretty bleak. Two cities, Danbury and Norwalk, now have a case prevalence, or number of cases per 10,000 residents, over 40. Danbury and Norwalk were some of the hardest hit during the first wave back in the spring, and Danbury has been struggling with successive outbreaks.
Other cities are also doing poorly; Waterbury, Bridgeport, and New London all have case prevalence numbers over 30 cases per 10,000 residents, and Hartford and Meriden are close behind with 27.49 and 27.88 cases per 10,000 residents, respectively.
Tiny North Canaan, which has been dealing with an outbreak at an assisted living facility, also has a case prevalence over 30. The greater Waterbury area, parts of the New Haven suburbs, and some towns in eastern Connecticut are also struggling with case prevalence numbers over 20.
Numbers are a little lower along the shore between Branford and Waterford, and in parts of Litchfield County. There’s no indication that any part of the state can keep the virus out for long, however.
It’s a good reminder that the election, which is now (mostly) over, doesn’t immediately fix our most pressing problems. Please stay safe out there, and wear your masks! Your elderly relatives will thank you.
Here’s last week’s map for comparison.
Case Prevalence Per 10,000, By Town
For the week ending October 28
Susan Bigelow is an award-winning columnist and the founder of CTLocalPolitics. She lives in Enfield with her wife and their cats.
The views, opinions, positions, or strategies expressed by the author are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of CTNewsJunkie.com.