Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday that Connecticut public health officials confirmed four more cases of a highly contagious version of the coronavirus in Connecticut.
The variant, which initially emerged in the United Kingdom last fall, is expected to cause a surge in cases across America in the coming weeks.
That brings the total number of confirmed cases of the U.K. variant in Connecticut to eight.
“This is a race,” Lamont said. “We are racing to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we can ahead of what could be, this super contagious strain. And that’s what we're going to find out. So far with what supplies we have, we’re doing pretty well.”
Lamont said during a media briefing that about 300,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Connecticut as of Monday.
He said about one-quarter of state residents aged 75 and above received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Shots are expected to roll out to people age 65 and older in the coming weeks.