Coronavirus CT: 2 More Deaths, 88 New Cases Reported

This article originally appeared on the Madison Patch

HARTFORD, CT — There are now 415 state laboratory-confirmed cases of the new coronavirus among Connecticut residents, Gov. Ned Lamont said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

A total of 10 Connecticut residents, six in Fairfield County, two in Hartford County, and two in Tolland County have died as a result of the virus, and 54 are currently hospitalized.

The two fatalities since Sunday include a man in his 50s who lived in a private residence in Norwalk and was recently hospitalized at Norwalk Hospital, and a man in his 70s who lived in a private residence in Newington and was hospitalized at St. Francis Hospital.

In just one day, 88 new positive cases were reported and two additional deaths.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Cartter said, "it's only the tip of an iceberg and no one knows how big the iceberg is underneath."

Cartter said "we're still in acceleration phase," he said, adding that as Lamont said, "cases will double every three to five days."

"Two weeks ago Friday, we were standing in Danbury Hospital announcing the first case," he said.

Cartter estimated that there are between 3,000 and 6,000 active positive cases in Connecticut currently. In total, more than 4,500 tests have been administered to date.

Lamont said that in people who become ill with the coronavirus, 15 percent end up in the hospital and five percent of them will end up in an intensive care unit. He said the good news is that unlike in China where ICU patients spent an average of four weeks in care, in Connecticut the average is two weeks, he said, calling it a "bit of good news."

He said officials are working with hospitals to increase capacity. He said the state has access to 2,000 nursing home beds over next month for patients. He said mobile field hospitals will be set up at Danbury and St. Francis hospitals. Lamont said that college dorm rooms will also be used for patient care.

"The hospitals are working at warp speed, unfortunately, the virus is working at warp speed as well," he said.

Schools will remain closed until at least April 20

Lamont said that at the earliest, schools will re-open April 20. Schools were originally supposed to be closed just until the end of March but that has officially been extended until at least April 20, Lamont said Monday.

School systems across the state are beginning distance learning programs. (To sign up for free, local breaking news alerts from more than 100 Connecticut communities, click here.)

Lamont said 60,000 laptops will be given to schools and he's working with cable and internet providers to lift data caps and open hotspots.

Business closings

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Lamont has ordered the shutdown of schools, restaurants, bars, nail salons, barber shops, hair salons, and other cosmetology services, movie theaters, malls, casinos, bowling alleys, and gyms in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. Restaurants are permitted to offer takeout and delivery. And Lamont ordered all non-essential businesses to close Monday as of 8 p.m.

These measures, taken through executive order, are part of Lamont's Stay Safe, Stay Home initiative to blunt the spread of the virus.

Here is a list of the essential businesses allowed to remain open. Any occupation/business not listed here must close until April 22.

Town-By-Town Cases In CT As Of Monday afternoon

Westport, 74, Greenwich, 31, Stamford, 30, Norwalk, 28, Danbury, 15, Ridgefield, 13, Darien, 11, Hartford, 11, and Wilton, 10.

Bridgeport, 9, New Canaan, 9, Brookfield, 8, New Haven, 8, Fairfield, 8, Stafford, 8, Rocky Hill, 8, West Haven, 6, Bethel, 5, Glastonbury, 5, Manchester, 5, Waterbury, 5, Tolland, 5.

Weston, 4, Newington, 4, New Fairfield, 4, Milford, 3, Bethlehem, 3, Farmington, 3, Southington, 3, Stratford, 3, West Hartford, 3, Windsor, 3, Berlin, 2, Branford, 2, Easton, 2, Guilford, 2, Litchfield, 2, Meriden, 2, New Britain, 2, New Milford, Oxford, 2, South Windsor, 2, Southbury, 2, Suffield, 2, Trumbull, 2, Windsor Locks, 2, Woodbridge, 2 Woodstock, 2.

Towns reporting one case: Ansonia, Avon, Beacon Falls, Bolton, Burlington, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Haven, East Lyme, Enfield, Haddam, Hamden, Harwington, Killingworth, Madison, Mansfield, Middletown, Monroe, Montville, Newtown, Norwich, Orange, Plainville, Portland, Redding, Salisbury, Seymour, Sharon, Shelton, Stonington, Thomaston, Torrington, Vernon, Wethersfield, and Woodbury.

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Hospital workers and first responders need Personal Protective Equipment

Meanwhile, Lamont asked members of the public, businesses, and philanthropic organizations to consider donating items of Personal Protective Equipment for use in Connecticut’s hospitals and long-term care facilities, more than 100 entities have filled out the donation form expressing interest in giving.

Anyone who has these vital materials and would like to donate them to Connecticut’s medical community should fill out the online form located at www.211ct.org/DonationsCOVID19.
Requests received are being reviewed by staff at DPH and United Way to ensure that the donations meet the needs of Connecticut’s medical community.

Items being requested by the state at this time include:

· N95 Respirators
· Face Masks/Surgical Masks
· Face Shields
· Surgical Gowns
· Gloves (nitrile, or non-latex)
· Thermometers
· Thermometer Covers (if applicable to type of thermometer)
· Hand Sanitizer
· Other Medical Items