CT Update - 619 cases (up 200 in 1 day) - 12 deaths:
Daily coronavirus updates: Connecticut sees 200 new COVID-19 infections in one day as death toll reaches 12; Gov. Lamont urges those who can to stay home
Connecticut has 618 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 200 in one day, Gov. Ned Lamont announced at a news conference Tuesday.
“We thought it might get worse before it gets better, and I’m afraid we were right," Lamont said, adding that the single-day increase is not due to the ramp up in testing across the state.
The fast-growing, confirmed “infections are related to the fact that we have a higher percentage of our people who are actually infected,” Lamont said.
As of Tuesday, there have been 12 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 and 71 hospitalized patients have tested positive for the virus.
Because of testing limitations, the number of actual cases is believed by health experts to be far greater than the number of confirmed cases. About 5,300 tests results have been reported to date.[BBM] - STILL NO IMPROVEMENT IN STATE LAB TESTING THROUGHPUT!!!!
Lamont said 900 nurses and doctors are coming out of retirement to help staff hospitals as they work to ramp up capacity for the coming surge of coronavirus patients. Three hundred retirees have already reported to work.
Dormitories at Southern and Central Connecticut State Universities are opening to increase capacity, as well — not necessarily for patients, but to provide a place for health care workers to stay overnight to avoid exposing their families to the coronavirus.
“It just reminds you what heroes we have on the front lines,” Lamont said.
Students unlikely to report back this school year
Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday that Connecticut schools are unlikely to reopen until the fall, as the state’s COVID-19 outbreak intensified, hospitals prepared for a surge in new patients and a cluster of cases was confirmed in a Ridgefield assisted-living center.
“You worry if people get back too quickly, that there’ll be a second iteration of this virus,” Lamont
told WCBS-880 Tuesday morning.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Lamont reiterated that the pandemic is unlikely to be cleared by April 20, the earliest date he’s said Connecticut’s public schools will reopen: “My instinct is this is a virus that’s gonna linger for a lot longer than that.”
Lamont said the state will use a higher standard than simply waiting for the other side of the pandemic’s peak.
“We’re going to make sure that the virus is behind us or at least contained," he said.
Here’s what else is happening:
- There have been two deaths and 16 confirmed coronavirus cases at an assisted-living community in Ridgefield.
- Hospitals are preparing for a surge in COVID-19 patients, with two erecting “field hospitals” to expand their capacity.
- State lawmakers are continuing work on an economic relief package for businesses.
- Health care workers are in need of personal protective equipment, and the state is accepting donations.
2 deaths, 16 confirmed cases in Ridgefield assisted-living community
Officials with Benchmark Senior Living at Ridgefield Crossing, where the first person in Connecticut to die from COVID-19 lived, said a second resident has died and the facility now has 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
“I am concerned about that,” Lamont said during a Tuesday news conference. “We know that nursing homes can be a petri dish and they’re spreading [it] to the most vulnerable population. We’re watching this very carefully and there is a risk of clusters.”
Officials said testing began after the first individual contracted the virus. On Tuesday, the facility said: “We learned on March 23 of 16 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Ridgefield Crossings. These residents have not exhibited any symptoms and are being closely monitored and cared for by our trained staff.”
Lack of equipment remains an issue for hospitals across the state. Waterbury Hospital has slowed down its drive-through testing due to a shortage of supplies, particularly N95 respirator masks, a spokesperson said. UConn Health, meanwhile, has ordered staff to reuse masks ahead of a potential nationwide shortage.
Fearing a mask shortage, St. Francis Hospital and Medical in Hartford is accepting donations for “new and unopened N95 Respirator masks, both medical grade and industrial grade," hospital president Dr. John Rodis said, in a statement. Anyone with masks to donate can find details on the Trinity Health of New England website. [BBM]
