Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 in Connecticut leapt up to 500 individuals on Monday, straining some regional hospitals and reflecting the continued spread of the delta variant in the state.
The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has more than doubled in the past month, according to state data. Currently, 91% of the hospital beds in New Haven County are full, president and CEO of Griffin Hospital Patrick A. Charmel said during a press conference at New Haven Union Station championing booster shots.
“There are only 200 beds left to be filled,” Charmel said. “We need folks to go out and protect themselves, because they are protecting the community, but they’re also preserving our capacity to take care of sick people.”
At Yale New Haven Health, the number of patients with COVID-19 has doubled over the past five weeks, said chief clinical officer Dr. Tom Balcezak. Across the health system, there are currently 140 patients with COVID-19.
“These are cases that we would not normally have, and we don’t have a lot of excess capacity to begin with,” he said.
In Hartford County, Hartford HealthCare senior system director of infection prevention Keith Grant reported more than sufficient hospital capacity. But he said the statewide increase in hospitalizations made sense given the increase in indoor gatherings during colder weather.
“This is not inconsistent with what we expect will happen, considering the delta variant, people going inside, the holiday season, shopping,” he said.
Public health officials emphasize that the vast majority of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are among unvaccinated residents.
“The bottom line is, the virus is among us — predominantly the delta variant, still,” Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani said. “And this is resulting in hospitalizations in our state where 70-80% of people in the hospital are unvaccinated. The virus finds the unvaccinated.”
Cases and positivity rate
Connecticut on Monday reported 5,481 new COVID-19 cases out of 94,544 tests administered, for a daily test positivity rate of 5.8%. The state’s weekly positivity rate now also stands at 5.8%, the highest it has been since mid-January.
All eight Connecticut counties — as well as the rest of those in the Northeast region — are currently recording “high” levels of COVID-19 transmission as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With this level of transmission, the CDC advises people to wear a mask in public indoor settings.
Juthani noted that COVID-19 transmission is accelerating in Connecticut, with the vast majority of towns reaching a “red alert” designation.
“Over the last month, we saw Connecticut go from … originally 31 towns that were red, that then went to about 67 towns that were red, to 101 towns, to 137 towns,” she said.
Hospitalizations
As of Monday, there were 500 patients in Connecticut hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 80 individuals since Friday. It has been about eight months since hospitalizations last reached the 500-person mark.
Hospital officials say the vast majority of those hospitalized with serious COVID-19 symptoms are unvaccinated.
Deaths
Connecticut reports additional COVID-19 deaths once a week, on Thursdays. Last Thursday, the state reported 44 additional COVID-19 deaths over the past eight days, bringing its total during the pandemic to 8,909.
The United States has now recorded 785,916 deaths related to COVID-19, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
Vaccinations
As of Monday, 85% of all Connecticut residents and 95.2% of those 12 and older had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, while 72.8% of all residents and 82.8% of those 12 and older were fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Additionally, 29.2% of fully vaccinated Connecticut residents 18 or older have received a booster dose.
Eliza Fawcett can be reached at elfawcett@courant.com.
