HARTFORD, CT — Over the past week more than 157 new cases of coronavirus have been reported among residents in Connecticut’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities, but new cases aren’t just concentrated there.
The second wave of COVID-19 has hit the state of Connecticut hard.
On Friday, there were 2,746 new cases, a record for one day. The 10,520 cases reported over the last seven days accounted for 12% of all COVID-19 cases in Connecticut to date – more than the total number of cases in the state between June 1 through August 31.
As of Friday, there were 784 nursing home residents with confirmed cases of COVID-19. There were also 659 people across the state who have been hospitalized with the virus.
Ajay Kumar, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Hartford Healthcare, said the patients who are coming to the hospital are not using intensive care as much as they were during the first part of the pandemic.
“There has been some variability in the type of patients we’ve seeing,” Kumar said. “Obviously, the nursing home exposures create this rush of elderly patients coming to the hospital, but generally it’s a similar type of story that we saw in March and April, individuals who have some chronic and underlying disease so on and so forth are coming back at this time.”
He also said more younger people are testing positive for the virus.
According to state data, there have been 23 deaths among the 30 to 39 age group, 64 among those 40 to 49, 199 cases among those 50 to 59, 592 among those 60 to 69, 1,034 among those 70 to 79, and 2,819 among those 80 and older.
The state doesn’t report daily data over the weekends. All that information gets reported on Monday.
The second wave of the virus has also hit close to home for Gov. Ned Lamont and his staff following Friday’s announcement from his Communications Director, Max Reiss.
Following a release from the governor’s office Friday, Reiss reached out to the Capitol press corps and also tweeted to let reporters know directly that he had tested positive for the virus. Reiss’ children were already in quarantine when the test he took Thursday came back positive.
Reiss, who gets tested every Monday and Thursday, had tested negative twice over the past 10 days before receiving the positive test results Friday.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
Since announcing the launch of its contact tracing app, there have been more than 300,000 people who have downloaded it on their Apple or Android phones.
The Bluetooth feature on the app anonymously notifies users if they have come into close proximity of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes.
More COVID-19 Coverage

Connecticut To Get FEMA Funds for COVID Testing Sites
Connecticut will receive more than $2 million in federal emergency funding to pay for the operation of COVID-19 testing sites during a six-month period last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday. The roughly $2.15 million will come from FEMA’s public assistance grant program and will be used to reimburse state funds used to…
Keep reading
COVID Transmission Increases in CT
As of Friday afternoon, Connecticut’s test positivity rate was 13.71% and there were 323 residents hospitalized with the virus. On Thursday, the Department of Public Health reported that 158 of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities qualified for the state’s “red alert” distinction for COVID-19, which is triggered when a community records at least 15 daily cases per…
Keep reading
Connecticut At High, Medium Risk of COVID Transmission
Connecticut’s COVID-19 test positivity rating was 10.35% on Thursday and all eight Connecticut counties were in the medium yellow or high orange categories on the CDC’s community spread map. Those community maps, created by the CDC in February, are supposed to tell people to take preventative steps such as masking and testing. Hartford, Middlesex and…
Keep reading
Advocates Make 11th Hour Pitch For Compassionate Release
Hartford, CT — Advocates seeking compassionate release from prison during public health emergencies like COVID rallied at the state Capitol hours before they saw their legislation die without action in either chamber. At the rally on Wednesday, protestors and advocates were demanding action from legislators to pass a bill that addresses COVID in prisons. The…
Keep reading
Legislating During COVID-19
The legislative session ends in three days now, that’s shorter than the amount of time someone should quarantine under CDC standards if they have COVID-19, so how are lawmakers coping? Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, started experiencing symptoms two weeks ago and tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily the session wasn’t scheduled until last Tuesday, but…
Keep reading
Study Shows Union Nursing Homes Had Lower Rates of COVID-19
A recent study published by Health Affairs found that unionized nursing homes had lower resident COVID-19 mortality rates. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home residents have accounted for roughly one of every six COVID-19 deaths in the United States. Nursing homes have also been very dangerous places for workers, with more than…
Keep reading
Senator Murphy Tests Positive For COVID
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy announced on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19. “FYI after feeling mild symptoms overnight, I tested positive for COVID this morning. We’ve done the contact tracing and let people know. It’s a bummer, but I’m sure if I wasn’t fully vaccinated I would be feeling a lot worse. So remember…
Keep reading
COVID Cases Tick Back Up
Most of Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive orders, which were extended to April 15 by the legislature, have now expired just as Connecticut’s test positivity rate for COVID-19 is creeping back up and students at UConn are being asked to mask up again, starting today. According to the Department of Public Health, Connecticut recorded 3,939 positive…
Keep reading
House Green Lights Extension of COVID-19 Laws
The House gave final passage Wednesday to a package of four concepts that had been executive orders and are now law. Previously, the concepts were executive orders to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keep reading
Tong Tests Positive For COVID-19
Attorney General William Tong has tested positive for COVID-19. He is experiencing mild symptoms and quarantining at home.
Keep reading
Lieutenant Gov. Tests Positive For COVID-19, Days After Gov
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz tested positive for the COVID-19 virus during a routine rapid test over the weekend, her chief staff said in a Monday morning statement. Bysiewicz’s results follow Gov. Ned Lamont, who tested positive late last week. “I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Bysiewicz wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to the vaccine and booster…
Keep reading
Lamont Tests Positive for COVID-19
Gov. Ned Lamont tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday. The results from two rapid tests were positive and he’s awaiting the results of a PCR test, according to this staff. The 68-year-old governor received his second booster exactly a week ago, but has made it through the first two years of the pandemic without contracting the…
Keep reading
New Initiative Allows Same Day COVID Testing And Treatment
Hundreds of pharmacies and federally qualified community health centers across Connecticut are now offering COVID testing and treatments to patients at the same time and place. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, these test-to-treat sites provide antiviral medication to hundreds of locations across the U.S, who then distribute them to patients…
Keep reading
YNHH Top Doc Boosts 2nd Boosters
If you’re eligible to get a second Covid-19 booster shot, go get it. Especially if you’re over 50 and have an underlying medical condition like diabetes that puts you at “high risk” of contracting a severe case of COVID. Read more from the New Haven Independent.
Keep reading
Federal COVID Funds To Limit Tax Relief In An Election Year
Like all states, Connecticut accepted billions of dollars from the federal government for COVID-19 relief, but that money limits how much the state can now consider cutting taxes. It’s bubbling up as a point of contention as lawmakers race to adjust the two-year state budget, which is currently experiencing a record surplus. Connecticut is expected…
Keep reading