U.K. Coronavirus Variant Now 30 To 40 Percent Of CT Cases

CONNECTICUT — An estimated 30 to 40 percent of new coronavirus cases in Connecticut are now from the U.K. variant, state officials said Monday.

The state is predominantly working with the Yale School of Public Health to sequence coronavirus test samples for any variant, said state Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe as a news conference.

So far there have been no New York coronavirus variants found, Geballe said.

Gov. Ned Lamont said he remains confident that vaccine-induced immunity and natural immunity from previous coronavirus infections will help head-off increased case counts in Connecticut.

“I’m watching that closely, so far the numbers bear out our strategy and I think we were ahead of this variant, we will be ok,” he said.

Connecticut reported another 2,976 coronavirus cases over three days and a 3.59 percent positive test rate. Coronavirus hospitalizations dropped by 13 patients down to 389 currently hospitalized and there were nine new coronavirus deaths reported over three days.

Around 36 percent of Connecticut residents 16 and above have received at least one coronavirus dose. About 53 percent of all residents 45 and older have gotten at least one dose as of Monday.

There have been nearly 300,000 identified coronavirus cases in Connecticut as of Monday, but the actual number is likely higher since testing was scarce in the first couple of months during the pandemic. More than 1 million people have received at least one vaccine doses as of Monday.

Connecticut remains on track to open vaccine eligibility to everybody 16 and over on April 5, Geballe said. Everyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get one by the late spring or early summer. Connecticut will then ramp up its efforts to make getting a vaccine as easy as possible for anyone else.

There are 35 mobile vaccine van units and more are on the way. Each van is capable of doling out 160 doses per day.

“So we envision these mobile units operating almost on an ice cream truck model where you can drive through neighborhoods, and you can flag them down and get a vaccination,” Geballe said.

The state is working with community partners to continue to set up mobile clinics at churches and other sites in an effort to boost vaccine uptake in disadvantaged areas.