Connecticut's COVID-19 Test Positive Rate Exceeds 10% for First Time

Connecticut's COVID-19 test positive rate exceeded 10% on Monday, the highest number since widespread testing began earlier in the pandemic.

Of the 136,857 COVID-19 tests administered since Thursday, 14,654 came back positive. The state's daily test positive rate now sits at 10.71%, according to the governor's office.

Eighty-eight more people are hospitalized in the state with COVID-19 since Thursday for a total of 925 current hospitalizations. The state has not seen this level of hospitalizations since Jan. 28.

Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases and the omicron variant, the state of Connecticut plans to distribute three million at-home rapid COVID-19 tests and six million N95 masks starting as early as Dec. 30, the governor announced Monday.

One million of the tests - 500,000 iHealth kits each containing two tests - will be set aside for the general public. Distribution will begin Dec. 30 and continue through the first week in January, the governor's office said.

The state is working with local cities and towns and will ultimately leave the distribution in each jurisdiction up to that municipality, Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Department of Public Health said at a Monday news conference.

An additional two million tests will be distributed to K-12 schools across the state starting in January and continuing throughout the school year, Gov. Ned Lamont's office said.

“Connecticut is currently experiencing another surge in COVID-19 cases that is being driven mostly by the highly transmissible Omicron variant,” Lamont said in a statement. “As a result, the demand for tests has outpaced the supply of testing available through our statewide network of about 400 sites. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is likely to be a period of high transmission, and we have to get 2022 off to a good start by helping residents identify COVID-19 quickly and take those steps to isolate appropriately to curb any further spread.”