Bethel Coronavirus Alert Level Edges Upward

BETHEL, CT — There is one less Connecticut town in the high coronavirus alert "red zone" this week, even as many towns in the southwest of the state are taking more time to turn the corner.

Where there are new infections in the Northeast, health officials are pointing towards the highly transmissible omicron subvariant BA.2. Health officials are predicting the new coronavirus flavor will be 50-60 percent more contagious than the original omicron variant, but with far less severe symptoms.

Bethel is back on the COVID-19 map, climbing from "gray" last week to "yellow" in the most recent data from the state Department of Public Health. The town had 5.1 average daily cases per 100,000 residents and a positive test rate of 2.3 percent between Mar. 6-19, according to DPH. The test rate is up 0.6 percent from last week's numbers.

It's important to note that a few cases can have a large impact on a municipal case rate, especially for small towns.

No Bethel schools reported any cases of COVID-19 among among their student body from Mar. 17-23.

As of Thursday, 65.4 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated. In Connecticut, 78.3 percent of residents have had both jabs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both the nation's and the state's vaccinated population climbed 0.1 percent from last week's tabulation. Just over half of Connecticut residents have received a booster shot against the coronavirus.

Bethel is slightly behind the state curve, with 74.4 percent of its residents fully vaccinated, according to the latest DPH data.