By John Schwing

WESTPORT — As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads more widely through the region, Westport is now classified in the “red” zone by state health officials, along with virtually ever other state town recording the highest transmission rate of the virus.

According to the latest data, Westport was moved by the state Department of Public Health into the red zone Friday, the classification assigned to communities with 15 cases or more per 100,000 people.

Specifically, Westport’s transmission rate charted at the low end of that classification with 16.5 cases/100,000. 

Westport’s neighboring communities had significantly higher transmission rates of the virus, according to the data — Fairfield’s rate stood at 39.5 cases per 100,000, Norwalk was at 23.4, Weston at 18.8, Wilton at 18.7 and Easton at 17.1.

As the number of overall COVID cases and hospitalizations swell, only seven of the state’s 169 communities were not in the red zone as of Friday.

Connecticut’s positivity rate as of Friday was 6.08 percent, and 585 people with COVID infections were hospitalized across the state.

Last week, when Gov. Ned Lamont reported that the number of people hospitalized with COVID infections had surpassed 500, he noted it was three times the number recorded only a few weeks earlier.

But Lamont said Friday, at present, there are no immediate plans to impose new mandates to control the upsurge of COVID cases — still predominantly caused by the Delta variant.

Uncertainty over spread of new Omicron variant

However, with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant across Europe and other parts of the world over the past week, public health officials are warily monitoring its progress.

As of Friday, the state Department of Public Health reported a total of 11 Omicron cases have been identified in the state.

Of the nine latest Omicron cases identified over the previous week, the state reported five women and four men, between the ages of 20 to 85 years old, were diagnosed — three of them in Fairfield County.

Seven of those people were fully vaccinated, according to state health officials.

Grim statistics: Unvaccinated hardest hit

While the severity of Omicron infections still has not been determined — the variant was formally identified only Nov. 24 in southern Africa — state and local officials are promoting full-vaccination status as the best preventive measure against serious illness and hospitalization.

As evidence, state health officials said Friday that of the 585 patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, 450 — or 76.9 percent — were not fully vaccinated.

Unvaccinated people had a five times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated people, according to state data from the most recent reporting period.

Plus, the data show, during that same period unvaccinated people had a 16 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to those who are fully vaccinated.

Westport officials, in a statement earlier this month, urged anyone able and eligible to receive a COVID vaccine do so as soon as possible.

• Anyone 5 years old and over who lives, works or attends school in Connecticut is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
• For more information about vaccinations and boosters, visit the state website’s vaccine portal. For availability of local boosters, text the local ZIP code (06880) to 438829 (GETVAX).
• More information about COVID 19 and local resources can be found at the Westport-Weston Health District website.