Gov. Ned Lamont (Courtesy Image / State of Connecticut)

Gov. Ned Lamont said he believes Connecticut can meet President Joe Biden’s challenge to make all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccines by May 1, a deadline that already closely matches the state’s vaccination rollout plan.

“On behalf of the people of Connecticut: I accept this challenge,” Lamont said in a statement released in response to the president’s address to the nation on Thursday evening. Both are Democrats.

“Achieving universal access to vaccines for all adults by May is a bold, aggressive goal coming from President Biden, and this is the kind of leadership that is necessary to get our state and our country back to normal,” Lamont said.

Under the state’s age-based vaccine rollout schedule, Connecticut already planned to allow people age 16 and older to make a vaccination appointment on May 3. Currently, people age 55 and older are eligible. That moves to 45 years and older on March 22, and 35 years and older on April 12.

The state Department of Public Health announced Friday it has learned of four more cases of the B.1.351 COVID variant, commonly known as the South African variant. Identified among individuals from Ansonia, Danbury, Greenwich and New Milford, this variant has now been confirmed in a total of six cases in Connecticut.

Meanwhile, DPH reported 93 additional cases of the B.1.1.7 variant commonly known as the UK variant, bringing the total to 174 confirmed cases. This latest group of infected individuals live in communities scattered across Connecticut, with the largest number of new cases – 16 – identified in Waterbury.

Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new COVID-19 cases has decreased by 337.7, a decrease of 32.6%, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins. As of Friday, there were 381 people hospitalized, a decline of one since Thursday. New Haven County had the largest number, at 167 patients.

The number of COVID-associated deaths increased by four to 7,765.