CT has 3rd COVID case - looks to be community spread which is quite concerning IMO:
Third Connecticut resident tests positive for COVID-19 with no known exposure to coronavirus
Quotes from article:
A third Connecticut resident has tested positive for COVID-19, state officials said Wednesday, an elderly man from New Canaan who is the first to contract the disease with no known exposure to the coronavirus.
Dr. Matthew Cartter, the state epidemiologist, said the individual, who lives at home, was the first community-acquired case of COVID-19 in the state. Previous cases appear to have stemmed from interactions with others outside Connecticut. He was being treated at Norwalk Hospital.
“It is only a matter of time before we have widespread community transmission throughout the state of Connecticut," Cartter said in an afternoon briefing.
Cartter said state residents will die from the virus, but how many is not clear.
“What we are going through is incredibly difficult,” he said. “We have not seen a pandemic like this in 100 years.”
The state has tested 74 cases so far and there are 16 cases that are still awaiting testing, Cartter said. The lab is running seven days a week with two shifts. They plan to increase that next week to three shifts when two more people get certified to test samples. In addition to the three Connecticut residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, two New York residents who work at hospitals in Connecticut have also tested positive.
“If you have a fever and a cough and you are in the southwestern part of the state, you should assume that you have COVID-19,” Cartter said. “You don’t need a test to tell you that’s what you have, you should assume that’s the illness you have. Most people will get better at home, especially the younger you are. You should talk to your physician.”
Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer, said Connecticut will be receiving $7.1 million from the recent $8.3 billion federal appropriation approved to address coronavirus.
Cartter said the virus could hit in one or more waves with a spring wave of 6 to 8 weeks.
“This may well occur where we’re dealing with a wave now and a wave later," he said. "Right now our focus is to mitigate the first wave and slow it down. we don’t want everyone to get sick all at once.”
On the second day of a state of emergency declared by Gov. Ned Lamont, schools, businesses and organizations across Connecticut continued to curtail operations, from sending students and employees home to cancelling meetings and events.
Also Wednesday:
- The General Assembly was poised to approve $5 million in additional funding to respond to the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would send the state about $7 million to support response efforts.
- More local colleges, including Wesleyan University, Trinity College, Central Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University, announced they will shift all classes online through at least early April. Quinnipiac University, Yale University and the University of New Haven have taken similar steps in recent days.
- The University of Hartford announced that four students are self-isolated after attending a conference where several attendees have since tested positive for the virus. The school has not yet moved to online classes but has told students to take all essentials home for spring break in case they are not able to return to campus.
- The town of Westport announced it will close all schools after students and parents were exposed to someone presumed to have the coronavirus.
