Connecticut's COVID-19 test positivity remained above 1% for a second day in a row, according to the latest data released from the Department of Public Health.
The state reported 222 new positive coronavirus cases since Wednesday from a total of 16,602 administered tests. The positivity rate on those tests was 1.3%. Yesterday, the state reported a 1.5% positivity rate. The state's positive test rate has hovered below one percent for most of the past month.
Four more people lost their lives from COVID-19, according to the DPH data. Five fewer people are hospitalized with the coronavirus bringing the total number of active hospitalizations down to 52.
The uptick in the state's positive test rate comes as health experts, including epidemiologist Dr. Albert Ko of the Yale School of Public Health, said it could be several weeks before we understand the full impact of Labor Day weekend on the state's coronavirus numbers.
More school districts are also facing new coronavirus cases as students return back to school for the fall.
AstraZeneca announced late Tuesday that it is pausing its crucial late-stage trial for its coronavirus vaccine candidate as a result of a patient illness. This comes a day after several companies signed a safety pledge to uphold the scientific standards that their experimental vaccines will be held against.
In Meriden, a student at Lincoln Middle School who tested positive for COVID-19 was sent home to isolate and other students who are in the class will need to quarantine for 14 days before returning to school. Meriden Public School Superintendent Mark Benigni said in a video statement that the school department learned today that a student had tested positive and that student was immediately sent to the school's isolation area and is now home to isolate
A preschooler at the Naugatuck YMCA Child Care Center has tested positive for COVID-19 and all children in the same group, as well as the preschoolers’ siblings and group teachers have been directed to stay home for at least 14 days before returning to the child care center or visiting the YMCA.
