COVID Cases Drop As Over73% Of Bethel Is Fully Vaccinated

BETHEL, CT —Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to trend lower as state and town health officials shift their attention to relaxing local mask mandates.

The number of state residents hospitalized with the coronavirus tumbled below 300, to 290, on Friday — the lowest that metric has been since Thanksgiving 2021. On the same day, the state Department of Public Health reported the state daily positivity rate was 3.84 percent.

Bethel had 33.5 average daily cases per 100,000 residents and a positive test rate of 11.4 percent between Jan. 30 and Feb. 12, according to DPH. There were 42.9 average daily cases per 100,000 residents in the previous two-week reporting period. It's important to note that a few cases can have a large impact on a municipal case rate, especially for small towns.

Bethel recorded 93 new coronavirus cases between Jan. 30-Feb.12, according to DPH's preliminary data.

The virus claimed 105 lives in Connecticut over the past week — 31 fewer than logged the week before — according to the state Department of Public Health.

In Bethel, there were no new deaths from COVID-19 in the latest weekly reporting period. The town's toll is 68 since the start of the pandemic.

See also: CT Town-By-Town Coronavirus Updates: Red Zones And School Cases

As of Friday, 64.6 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated, while 77.4 percent of Connecticut residents have had both jabs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bethel is lagging the state slightly, with 73.53 percent of its residents fully vaccinated, according to the latest DPH data.