Connecticut coronavirus hospitalizations have increased for the first time in a month but the test positive rate is among the lowest it has been since the start of the pandemic.
The last time hospitalizations increased was on May 24.
There was a five hospitalization increase since Thursday, bringing the state total to 127.
The COVID-19 positivity rate reached 0.8% in Connecticut, which is one of the lowest rates since the emergence of coronavirus, according to Governor Ned Lamont.
An additional nine people have died from coronavirus, bringing the state death toll to 4,307.
The number of positive COVID-19 cases reached 46,059, with an additional 65 reported since yesterday.
There were 7,922 tests performed since yesterday, bringing the total to 414,889 in Connecticut.
CDC Survey Results Released; Estimates Higher Number of COVID-19 Cases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released results Friday from its seroprevalence survey looking for COVID-19 antibodies in blood specimens.
The first results released highlight preliminary data from six sites involved in the survey, which included Connecticut.
The samples, collected between April 26 and May 3, were from clinical blood specimens from commercial laboratories. Those blood specimens included patients who had their blood tested for a number of reasons other than the coronavirus, including routine or sick visit testing, according to Lamont's office.
The survey found that of the six sites with results so far, Connecticut had the second highest seroprevalence, after the New York City metropolitan area, which had a 6.93% seroprevalence estimate.
By May 3, the state had reported 29,300 COVID-19 cases, but according to the CDC, it estimates there were actually 176,000 cases at that point -- six times higher than the reported case count.
In Connecticut, 1,431 samples were collected. The specimens were de-identified from the patient before being used in the survey, according to the govern's office.
The CDC said there are some limitations to the survey, including people who had blood taken may not represent the total population in Connecticut and that some results could be false positives or false negatives.
The CDC plans to test about 1,800 samples from each of the areas in the survey every three to four weeks.
