Connecticut's test positivity rate was just shy of 6% the day before Thanksgiving and 10 more towns have been added to the list of Red Alert areas, the state announced Wednesday afternoon.
The new information comes just a day before Thanksgiving as cases continue to surge in the state and across the country.
The positive percent rate was 5.99% from 1,872 positive tests on 31,232 reported test since Tuesday. Seventy-seven more hospitalizations were recorded for a total of 968 current hospitalizations. Forty-five more people lost their lives bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic to 4,926.
The state's network to track and trace COVID-19 cases is getting stretched, Gov. Ned Lamont said in a news conference. Lamont said the 77 new hospitalizations is the largest single increase in this second surge this fall.
The governor has urged people to enjoy their holiday meals with those in their immediate household only and not hold large gatherings for Thanksgiving this year in an effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
"We know the next few weeks are going to be complicated," Lamont said.
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Red Alert Towns
150 cities and towns are now in the Red Alert level, the highest of the state's four COVID-19 alert levels.
The new towns added to the Red Alert levels:
- Avon
- Barkhamsted
- Bolton
- Canton
- Columbia
- Ellington
- Granby
- Simsbury
- Voluntown
- Winchester
The towns removed from the Red Alert list are:
- Ashford
- Guilford
- North Stonington
- Pomfret
- Preston
- Roxbury
Lamont also announced Tuesday a new fine of $10,000 for businesses found to be violating state COVID-19 restrictions.
You can watch the governor's news conference live above in this article when it happens.