New London — COVID-19 hospitalizations are in the single digits at Lawrence + Memorial and Westerly hospitals, having sharply declined in the last couple of weeks, L+M’s associate chief medical officer said Tuesday.

Dr. Kevin Torres said L+M was treating nine COVID-19 patients and Westerly eight.

In early January, cases numbered in the 60s at L+M and near 20 at Westerly, the highest totals since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March 2020. Six weeks ago, Torres said a “plateau” in the number of cases was at hand, a prediction that turned out to be accurate.

“We’ve really dropped off in the last week or two,” Torres said. “The number in ICU has dropped as well. We’re seeing more patients on the floor (instead of the emergency room). We know that out in the public many people have gotten the disease but it’s been more like catching a cold. It seems to be getting better.”

The number of COVID-19 cases detected in southern New London County has plummeted by 90% over the past five weeks, data posted by the nine-town Ledge Light Health District show. The district found 269 new cases of the disease in the week that ended Feb. 12, down from 2,659 new cases in the week that ended Jan. 8.

Torres said the early January surge in cases could have been due to the fallout from holiday gatherings as well as the omicron variant. The disease, he said, surged among staff members, too.

In recent weeks, the percentage of COVID-19 patients who have been vaccinated has been increasing. Now, the number of vaccinated patients is almost equal to the number who haven’t been vaccinated. Torres said part of the reason is that so many people have been vaccinated.

It’s not a sign that the effect of the vaccines is “wearing off,” he said.

Torres said L+M kept operating as usual during the surge in COVID-19 cases and had not had to postpone elective surgeries.

“Everything’s running the way it should be,” he said.

Visitation restrictions at hospitals throughout the Yale New Haven Health system have been eased, with all patients allowed one visitor. Visitors must show proof of being fully vaccinated (no booster required), or proof of a negative PCR test for COVID-19 in the past 72 hours, or proof of a positive COVID-19 test in the last 90 days but greater than 10 days since being positive.

Torres said L+M is seeking to ensure all employees get booster shots and continues to require they wear masks. He said Gov. Ned Lamont’s decision to lift mask-wearing requirements in schools next week is “probably the right direction to go in,” while those comfortable wearing masks in schools and stores should continue to do so.

"If infections start rising, we can reinstitute mask-wearing,” he said.

Statewide COVID-19 data released Tuesday show 338 new cases of the disease had been detected among 9,618 tests, a daily positivity rate of 3.51%. On Monday, the rate over the three days since Friday was 2.97%. Hospitalizations numbered 261 Tuesday, unchanged since the day before.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com