Connecticut's COVID-19 test positivity rate dropped to its lowest point in 3½ months, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday, as 2.32% of the tests reported over the previous day were confirmed as cases of the disease.

"That's extraordinarily positive good news," Lamont said.

Hospitalizations statewide decreased by 39, to 731, and 28 more people died, bringing total deaths from COVID-19 to 7,354. Locally, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital reported that it had 18 COVID-19 patients Thursday, while Westerly Hospital had seven.

Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said the Department of Public Health last weekend reported 20 cases to date of the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the U.K. variant, but hasn't identified additional cases since.

Some medical providers started offering the vaccine to people ages 65-74 earlier this week, but the ability for that age group to make appointments officially began statewide on Thursday. Lamont said that 61% of people over 75 have been vaccinated.

There are about 300,000 people ages 65-74 who haven't been vaccinated yet, but the state is only getting about 69,000 doses per week from the federal government — up from about 46,000 doses two weeks ago — so the governor urged patience.

Lamont said the federal government is negotiating a deal to buy more vaccine from Moderna and Pfizer, but he hasn't gotten an indication of when Connecticut may see additional doses, though he's hopeful.

Geballe said the state is about halfway through vaccinating both correctional officers and incarcerated people over age 65, and that of the first 204 incarcerated people offered the vaccine, 200 accepted, "which is really fantastic news."

The governor expects it to take at least a few weeks for people over 65 to get vaccinated before moving on to the next phase, details of which haven't been released yet.

He didn't have an answer Thursday on whether front-line essential workers or people with underlying health conditions will be prioritized next, and said the state will provide more specific guidance before the next phase.

Lamont said defeating COVID-19 is his first budget priority; he released his two-year, $46 billion state budget proposal on Wednesday.

"If you don't defeat COVID and break the back of this virus, nothing else matters. Our budget and economic growth will be topsy-turvy," he said.

He said his other priorities include making health care more affordable, investing in transportation and broadband, modernizing state government through information technology improvements, and economic growth.

Parts of the state budget, such as education spending, rely on federal pandemic relief funding. He urged school districts to think creatively about how they use this additional money, "because there's a great deal of flexibility," and to think about the kids with disabilities, because they've been hit particularly hard by the pandemic.

Lamont's capital budget includes $1.4 billion each year for bond authorizations, and the governor indicated he is particularly interested in uses for affordable housing.

To fund transportation, he proposed a mileage-based fee on tractor-trailers.

"I just think it's appropriate that when they tear up our roads and they come through here, they make a bigger contribution," Lamont said. He thinks he can get legislative support because "reality sets in. We gotta do something with the transportation fund; we can't stick our heads in the sand."

Day Staff Writer Brian Hallenbeck contributed to this report.

e.moser@theday.com