Coronavirus Ridgefield: Alert Level Climbs Back To 'Orange'

RIDGEFIELD, CT — There are now less than 10 of the high coronavirus alert "red zone" towns in Connecticut, as plummeting COVID-19 cases continue to drain the color from the state's alert level map.

In Ridgefield, the numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction.

Ridgefield's coronavirus alert level climbed from "yellow" to "orange," as the town had 10.9 average daily cases per 100,000 residents and a positive test rate of 4.7 percent between Feb. 27 and Mar. 12, according to the state Department of Public Health.

But there were just eight average daily cases per 100,000 residents in the previous two-week reporting period, and the test rate is up 1.4 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.

In the schools, Branchville Elementary School, Farmingville Elementary School, Ridgefield High School, and Scotland Elementary School have each reported fewer than six cases of COVID-19 among their student body from Mar. 10-16.

Ridgebury Elementary School and Scotts Ridge Middle School, which had reported a handful of cases in last week's report, and all other schools in the Ridgefield School District, have logged zero infections during the current reporting period, according to DPH.

As of Thursday, 65.3 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated. In Connecticut, 78.2 percent of residents have had both jabs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Connecticut's vaccinated population climbed 0.2 percent, and the country's 0.1 percent, from last week's tabulation. Just over half of Connecticut residents have received a booster shot against the coronavirus.

Ridgefield is slightly ahead of the state curve, with 81.71 percent of its residents fully vaccinated, according to the latest DPH data.

Federal health officials are optimistic as the third year of the pandemic begins, couching that with concern about an increase in so-called stealth omicron cases around the country. The omicron subvariant BA.2 has grown more common in the two months since it was first detected in the United States in January, and now represents about a quarter of new cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pfizer and its coronavirus vaccine partner, BioNTech, have asked the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for the shots in an effort to bolster immunity among older Americans.