CONNECTICUT – An additional 93 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus, the so-called British variant, have been reported in Connecticut.
Although the three vaccines currently available to Connecticut residents are protected against B.1.1.7, the specific species is notable for spreading faster, as it is more transmissible.
The total number of Connecticut residents infected by the British variant is 174 in these communities:
- Beacon Falls: 1
- Bloomfield: 1
- Branford: 6
- Bridgeport: 7
- Bristol: 1
- Burlington: 1
- Cheshire: 3
- Cromwell: 1
- East Haven: 5
- Fairfield: 1
- Greenwich: 2
- Guilford: 2
- Hamden: 6
- Madison: 1
- Meriden: 5
- Middlefield: 1
- Middletown: 1
- Naugatuck: 3
- New Britain: 1
- New Hartford: 1
- New Haven: 34
- North Branford: 7
- Northern Canaan: 2
- North Haven: 4
- Norwich: 1
- Oxford: 7
- Outlook: 1
- Rocky Hill: 2
- Seymour: 2
- Shelton: 1
- Southbury: 2
- Southington: 2
- Stamford: 4
- Stratford: 2
- Thomaston: 2
- Thompson: 1
- Torrington: 1
- Wallingford: 14
- Waterbury: 16
- Watertown: 2
- West Hartford: 1
- West Haven: 10
- Westbrook: 1
- Wethersfield: 1
- Wilton: 1
- Windham: 1
- Wolcott: 1
- Woodbridge: 1
The State Department of Public Health also announced on Friday that four more cases of the B.1.351 – the South African variant – of COVID-19, had been reported in Connecticut. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of this variant in the following towns to six:
- Ansonia: 2
- Danbury: 1
- Greenwich: 1
- New Milford: 2
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the South African variety, like its British cousin, is no more deadly than regular vanilla COVID-19, but is more contagious.
Overall coronavirus hospitalizations continued to decline overnight. Two more beds were evacuated on Thursday, bringing the total number of Connecticut residents hospitalized with COVID-19 to 381.
The daily coronavirus positivity rate remained low, at 2.47 percent.
As of Monday, 11.59 percent of the state’s population has been completely vaccinated against COVID-19. On Friday, Governor Ned Lamont joined the ranks. He is receiving his second dose of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford.
“I consider receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as part of my commitment to protect myself, members of my administration and my family,” Lamont said. “As we continue to develop vaccines, I urge all our residents to receive their vaccination as soon as they are eligible. These vaccines are safe, effective and will help us get back to normal.”
The governor received his first dose of the vaccine on 16 February.
The number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,185 on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in Connecticut to 290,577. There were four more deaths associated with COVID-19, amounting to 7,765 since the start of the pandemic.
See also: CT Governor “Accept Challenge” to Vaccinate All Adults by May