CT Coronavirus Updates: 19 More Deaths, 1,090 New Cases

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday Connecticut had 1,090 more coronavirus cases over the past day, bringing the total to 4,914. An additional 19 deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 131. Hospitalizations spiked by 82 to 909.

Lamont noted at his news conference that it was exactly one month ago when Connecticut announced its first coronavirus case at Danbury Hospital. The governor was solemn in announcing a 29 percent increase in cases Friday.

The state has tested 20,015 people, an increase of 1,715 in the last 24 hours.

Lamont said federal officials acknowledged Thursday that the state is part of the "hot zone." He said the state has "been trying to explain that to Washington" for some time.

"It's important," Lamont said. "I hope they act on it now."

Examining the numbers

Here are coronavirus cases by county:

• Fairfield 2,716
• New Haven 891
• Hartford 679
• Litchfield 173
• Middlesex 91
• Tolland 79
• New London 40
• Windham 27

Deaths by county:

• Fairfield 75
• New Haven 18
• Hartford 18
• Tolland 10
• Litchfield 4
• New London 3
• Middlesex 2

Hospitalizations by county:

• Fairfield 409
• New Haven 293
• Hartford 166
• Litchfield 14
• Middlesex 12
• New London 9
• Tolland 3
• Windham 3

Of the 131 deaths, 71 were people over the age of 80; 33 were between the age of 70 and 79; 16 were between the age of 60 and 69; six were between the age of 50 and 59; three were between the age of 40 and 49; one was between the age of 30 and 39; and one was a newborn. No deaths have been reported in people between the ages of 1 and 30. Of the deaths, 82 were men and 47 were women.

Towns with the most cases include: Stamford at 589, Norwalk 435, Danbury 402, Greenwich 189, New Haven 174, Waterbury 160, Bridgeport 145, and Westport 134.

When Connecticut can expect a surge of cases

Lamont said the surge of cases is expected in Fairfield County over the next two to three weeks and then the surge in New Haven County will occur two weeks after Fairfield County’s surge which is expected to be in early to mid May. Hartford County’s surge is expected to occur in mid to late May, Lamont said.

Fairfield County is projected to see the most cases followed by New Haven County and then Hartford County. He said residents in eastern Connecticut will see by far the fewest virus cases.

How many hospital beds and ventilators do we need?

Lamont said Connecticut is expected to need 12,000 coronavirus-ready beds and currently the state has 4,000 such beds. He said he believes the hospitals can find an additional 3,000 beds and an additional 1,000 can be found in existing nursing homes.

Lamont said he is confident the state will be able to find the necessary 12,000 beds and officials are creating extra spaces at colleges and other major venues in the state.

The governor said the state is projected to need 4,000 ventilators and it only has 1,000 ventilators currently. Lamont said the state is searching everywhere for additional ventilators and earlier this week received 50 from the national stockpile.

State Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said that despite the high numbers, Fairfield County is "still ahead of the curve" due to mitigation efforts including closures and social distancing.

Here's Lamont's slide-show presented at Friday's media briefing.

When referring to graphs and charts identifying peaks and surges, Lamont said, "We can impact that by our behavior. We're gonna get through this by sticking together."

What about wearing masks?

Lamont said "anybody who can, probably should use a mask," especially people who work in areas where there's face-to-face contact. He said he expects that the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention is likely to recommend wearing face masks in public. He said the issue is supply.

"We're working our hearts out" to find more personal protection equipment, he said, adding that using a "scarf is an intermediate step."

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