Daily coronavirus updates: Connecticut reports zero deaths for third consecutive day, lowest positivity rate ever

For the third day in a row, Connecticut on Thursday reported zero new coronavirus-related deaths. The state on Thursday also reported its lowest daily test positivity rate ever, indicating testing has been sufficiently expanded to manage the current number of cases.

The state has seen a total of 4,437 coronavirus-related deaths, and that number has not budged since Monday.

An additional 20 coronavirus cases were identified Thursday, bringing the state to a total of 50,245 cases. The 20 cases reported Thursday were identified out of 8,984 tests — for a record daily positivity rate of 0.2%.

“That is by far the best we’ve been since the start of COVID. … This is a very good number,” Gov. Ned Lamont said at a Thursday afternoon press briefing. “Connecticut still has all the metrics in place that allow us to proceed cautiously with the rest of our reopening plan.”

The state’s previous lowest positivity rate was 0.5%, at the beginning of July.

Positivity rate is used as a gauge of a state’s testing. A lower rate indicates that a state has expanded its testing enough to include people who are less likely to test positive, including asymptomatic carriers. Connecticut’s daily positivity rate has hovered under 1% for much of the past few weeks.

While other data points trended in a positive direction, Connecticut’s coronavirus hospitalizations ticked up on Thursday. The state reported an additional seven hospitalizations, for a total of 66. Hospitalizations have fluctuated from one day to the next, but are down from a peak of nearly 2,000 patients in mid- to late-April.

Spike among young people continues

On Thursday, the state released additional data on the age of those diagnosed with coronavirus — and in keeping with previous weeks, the spike in cases among young people is still going strong.

Of those diagnosed with coronavirus from July 26 to Aug. 1, about 44% were under 30, or 207 out of 471 people. Young people are now making up a significantly larger portion of coronavirus cases than they did earlier in the pandemic.

In total, since the pandemic began in March, young people have accounted for only about 18% of cases.

The state Department of Public Health began raising the alarm on this trend several weeks ago, and has reported each week’s age-specific case data since the beginning of July. That data show that, between July 5 and Aug. 1, about 43% of cases have been found in young people.

Officials are particularly concerned about the trend because schools and colleges are slated to reopen in the next several weeks.

More funding allocated for schools

Lamont’s office announced Thursday that it will be providing an additional $160 million to school districts to help them reopen safely.

In total, Connecticut schools will now have $266 million in funding to help defray the costs of coronavirus-related measures. The funding will be used to boost internet availability and purchase personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.

“These grants are an essential component to providing the best possible educational opportunities during this uncertain time,” Lamont said in a release.

Contact tracing efforts ‘going very well’

At Thursday’s coronavirus press briefing, state chief operating officer Josh Geballe said Connecticut is always searching for ways to improve its contact tracing program. But he said that the program is “going very well overall.”

Over the last several weeks, Geballe said, employees and volunteers at the state and local health departments have reached out to more than 90% of newly identified coronavirus cases. Between half and two-thirds of new patients have actually been contacted, he said.

The state and local health departments “have really done a great job standing up this process from scratch over the last couple months, and it’s having a very beneficial impact,” Geballe said.

Emily Brindley can be reached at ebrindley@courant.com.