Here’s the latest on the coronavirus outbreak in the region:
A more contagious form of COVID-19 has been found in New Haven County, Connecticut.
One of the two residents had traveled back from Ireland and the other had been to New York State. That’s days after the variant coronavirus that was first identified in the U.K. was found in Saratoga County, New York. The two cases are not related to each other.
The 7-day positivity rate in Connecticut is 6.74%. There is no evidence the new strain of the virus is more deadly, but is at least 50% more contagious.
On Long Island, the 7-day COVID-19 positivity rate is 9.6%. The rest of New York is 8%.
Nassau County has reinstated some of its pandemic triage protocols. That means ambulance crews will not transport COVID-19 patients to hospitals, if they only have mild symptoms.