Connecticut surpassed 5,000 COVID-19 deaths this past weekend.

Gov. Ned Lamont reported Monday that since Friday, 4,714 new cases of the coronavirus disease had been detected among 106,821 new tests. That works out to a daily positivity rate of 4.4%, which continued a slightly downward trend — “another day that’s not going up and in fact going down a little bit,” the governor said during a virtual news briefing.

Lamont said the weekly average positivity rate dipped to 4.7%, significantly below the 5.8% of a couple of weeks ago.

“Let’s watch the trend line, but that is hopeful,” he said.

Of concern, though, were the 81 additional hospitalizations since Friday, pushing the number of current COVID-19 patients to 1,098, while 59 more fatalities raised the state’s cumulative death toll since March, when the pandemic began, to 5,020.

Lamont said no hospital in the state had reached its capacity though some, including Yale New Haven Hospital, were getting close.

Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer, said 71% of the state’s 8,000 hospital beds and 59% of the 1,000 beds in its intensive care units were occupied. A shortage of hospital staff is a greater concern than a lack of available beds, he said.

Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London and Westerly Hospital reported Monday they were treating 39 and 16 COVID-19 patients, respectively, new all-time highs.

“We currently have two inpatient units dedicated to COVID positive patients and have the ability to expand to other areas of the hospital to care for patients,” an L+M spokeswoman, Fiona Phelan, said.

Rhode Island’s hospitals reached their COVID-19 capacity Monday, which was the effective date of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s two-week “pause” designed to control the disease and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. During the period, bowling alleys, theaters, casinos, indoor sports facilities and gyms must close. Bars and bar areas in restaurants also must close, while restaurants are limited to 33% of indoor capacity and only people in the same household at a table.

“We’re doing a little better than Rhode Island,” Lamont said.

The governor said he has no plans to impose more stringent restrictions on restaurants or other businesses, acknowledging that some doctors in the state have asked him to shut down gyms and indoor dining to keep COVID-19’s spread in check.

“We don’t have to do everything by fiat,” he said. “People in Connecticut are doing the right thing.”

It will be a week or two before the results of travel and behavior during the Thanksgiving holiday are known, Lamont said, but some data suggest most people heeded calls that they stay home. Rail travel was down 85% compared to last year, and driving was down by 30%. Restaurant reservations in November were down 43% over last November, according to statistics the governor cited. 

As for the promise of COVID-19 vaccines, he said the state expects to receive its first 20,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine by Dec. 14 and to get another 20,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine a week later. He said more information about vaccinations will be forthcoming later this week.

Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, who joined Lamont’s briefing, said most superintendents are committed to keeping students, especially young ones, in school. COVID-19 mitigation strategies have succeeded in limiting cases of the disease among students and staffs, she said, adding that when schools have to close, it’s often because no one’s available to cover for teachers forced to quarantine.

It turns out young students are very good at wearing masks, “a major reason schools are doing as well as they are,” Rabinowitz said.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com