LAMONT FINDS HIS VOICE
A timeline of the early days of COVID, from first case to first death
In February 2020, the coronavirus was still an abstract idea on this side of the globe. It was a major public health crisis centered in Wuhan, China, though. And by the beginning of March, the first few fatalities had hit Washington state nursing homes, in a hint that the nation’s seniors, the Greatest Generation that survived World War II and the Great Depression, were vulnerable.
Following is a timeline of those first days of the pandemic in Connecticut, exactly one year ago.
Monday, March 2— U. S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams visits Connecticut for two days, touring the state laboratory in Rocky Hill, giving Gov. Ned Lamont and U. S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal a highprofile hand- washing lesson. There is no public discussion about masks or the state’s need for personal protective equipment. Later, at the Governor’s Residence, Lamont and leading state lawmakers tried to get assurances that the federal government would help provide more COVID- 19 test kits, but Adams couldn’t offer any. “If the question is, are we adequately prepared, that remains to be seen,” Kevin Dieckhaus, chief of UConn Health’s division of infectious diseases, said that day.
Tuesday, March 3 – While Gov. Ned Lamont hosts Adams for a second day, then- President Donald Trump mocks the health threat. That evening, Lamont joins Attorney General William Tong in a very public meal at a West Hartford Chinese restaurant, in an attempt to calm down anti- Asian sentiment. “This virus doesn’t discriminate and neither should we,” Lamont says. While 800 COVID test kits have been received by the state, only two people had been tested. In Washington state, two people have died and a total of 18 COVID patients had been confirmed. On Wall Street, the Dow lost 785 points, nearly 3 percent. Politically, on a Super Tuesday night with more than 14 primaries, Joe Biden surges nationally, but U. S. Sen. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary in California.
Wednesday, March 4 – Connecticut still has no cases but surrounding states do, including an entire family in New Rochelle, N. Y., where a cluster is forming — not far from Greenwich. At Stamford Hospital, Dr. Michael Parry, chairman of infectious diseases, declares coronavirus a pandemic. “Whether we want to admit that we’re there is another question,” he says. He calls for town hall- style meetings to reassure hospital staff and stress the importance of personal protective equipment in a pandemic. Nationally corporations, including Amazon and Swiss food giant Nestle, cancel business trips.
Thursday, March 5— UConn officials tell Lamont that 20 students are being monitored for symptoms, including a group that just came back from Italy, one of the world’s hot spots. One of the students had returned to a parttime job at a day care facility. A core group of Lamont’s inner circle, led by Chief of Staff Paul Mounds — in his first week on the job — and legal counsel Bob Clark, discuss triggering emergency powers. Lamont is told that the state is monitoring more than 200 people for possible infection. On Wall Street, U. S. stock indexes lose another 3.5 percent. In Stamford, online job- search giant Indeed asks all employees to work from home. In Washington, the U. S. Senate approves $ 8.3 billion to fight the coronavirus, including testing, vaccine development and personal protective equipment.
Friday, March 6— Lamont is in his hometown of Greenwich when the state’s first COVID case is identified at Danbury Hospital. With his security detail, the governor quickly drives to meet Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton at the hospital, later summoning the news media. “There is no cause for panic or anxiety,” he says. The novel coronavirus has jumped the border, showing up in a female employee of Danbury and Norwalk hospitals. She lives in New
York’s Westchester County. Officials from Nuvance Health said the infected employees worked in isolated parts of the hospitals and had limited contact with coworkers. State health officials say 42 possible COVID cases have been tested and none have come back positive. In Austin, Texas, the South by Southwest music and technology festival is canceled. On the Grand Princess cruise ship off the California coast, 21 cases of COVID are found, including 19 crew members.
Saturday, March 7 — The second COVID case, a physician employed at Bridgeport Hospital who lives in New York, is reported. Both of the cases are traced back to the New Rochelle outbreak. U. S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal calls for more testing equipment while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declares a state of emergency and orders nursing homes to prohibit visitors.
Sunday, March 8— Around 9: 30 a. m., Mounds, Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe, Department of Public Health officials and Jonathan Harris, a former state senator and Lamont adviser, discuss how to enact the governor’s emergency powers. Lamont and his team later offer an overview to legislative leaders in a telephone briefing that lasts an hour. The first case of a Connecticut resident, a middle- aged Wilton man, is reported at Danbury Hospital. He is believed to have contracted the infection during a recent trip to California. Nationally, 21 people have died from COVID- related illness. In northern Italy, 16 million people were ordered locked down for a month, as the national fatality toll there rises to 366. Lamont issues health recommendations. “If … travel is not essential, you should reconsider.”
Monday, March 9— Lamont participates in a White House update with at least a dozen other governors. Two companies, LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics, begin processing COVID tests in their state labs to supplement the state public health laboratory in Rocky Hill. Visitors are prohibited from nursing homes, where the virus is beginning a devastating rate of infections that will kill thousands of the state’s elderly. “We are doing everything in our capacity to put adequate plans in place,” Lamont says.
Tuesday, March 10 — Lamont declares civil preparedness and public health emergencies, allowing him to rule the state by executive order. Dozens more will follow in the coming weeks. Drivethru testing, inspired by similar programs in South Korea, begins in Greenwich, Stamford and Stratford. The governor announces that the second Connecticut resident has tested positive, a female health care worker in her 60s from Bethlehem who had recently returned from a trip to Nevada. She worked at Bridgeport Hospital.
Wednesday, March 11 — The last day of the General Assembly. After the House of Representatives finishes its business, the Capitol is ordered shut down for a four- day weekend of cleaning and sanitizing. It does not reopen to the public in 2020. The NCAA cancels its March Madness basketball tourna
ment. Westport tracks multiple exposures of COVID from a party that is said to have had 40 participants, but later is found to have closer to 100. Five Hundred high schoolers rally at CIAC headquarters in Cheshire to protest cancellation of high school tournaments.
Thursday, March 12 — The State Laboratory has performed 95 tests and found six positive and 89 negative. Major League Baseball cancels the remaining spring training season and announces that the start of the regular season would be delayed two weeks. Dr. Mathew Cartter, the state’s veteran epidemiologist, warned that thousands of state residents could die from COVID. Among Lamont’s emergency decrees, he limits the size of gatherings to 250 people, shelves the 180- day school- year requirement and extends Department of Motor Vehicles renewal deadlines.
Friday, March 13 — At the state Department of Labor, 2,000 people file for unemployment benefits in one day, up from an average of 500 aweek. It’s the first sign of a flood that would bring more than 1 million jobless claims in the state. And it signals a recession as travel and restaurant dining slow dramatically. Lamont moves closer to ordering a full shutdown of the state. Nationally, President Donald Trump declares an emergency, while across Connecticut, shoppers empty supermarket aisles of toilet paper, soap and sanitizer. Yale University, citing the lack of testing equipment available from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announces that it has replicated the coronavirus test.
Saturday, March 14 — New York reports its first fatality, an 82- year- old in Manhattan. Infections rage in the suburb of New Rochelle, less than 13 miles from the border with Greenwich. New York’s caseload rises to 500. Connecticut COVID cases double, to a total of 20, including 15 in Fairfield County. “I want to assure the people of Connecticut that the acts we are taking are being done with their safety in mind,” Lamont says.
Sunday March 15— Lamont’s executive orders cancel classes in public schools, extend city and town budget deadlines and close DMV operations for in- person business. Medical professionals in Connecticut express fears about potential shortages of hospital beds and equipment, including ventilators to intubate the most ill patients. Movie ticket sales collapse.
Monday, March 16 — A new executive order reduces social and recreational gatherings to 50 people and limits restaurant, bar and private club operations to takeout and delivery. Lamont also closes off- track betting facilities as well as gym, sports, fitness, recreation facilities, and movie theaters. Nationally, health departments report 18 fatalities, the largest number of coronavirus- related deaths in a single day, bringing the total to 85. Major League Baseball postpones the season indefinitely, the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that games are put on hold. The Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport cancels public church services.
Tuesday, March 17 – Connecticut’s first death, an elderly man, occurs at Danbury Hospital but is not announced. With 68 confirmed COVID cases, state health officials speculate that as many as 6,800 people could be infected. Bridgeport Hospital launches drivethrough testing. Jobless claims rise to 30,000 with no end in sight. In Washington, President Donald Trump asks Congress for an aid package.
Wednesday, March 18 – Lamont orders shopping malls and public amusement areas closed. He leads a moment of silence at what has become his daily coronavirus briefing, after announcing the state’s first fatality, an 88- year- old who had been residing in an assisted- living center in Ridgefield. By the end of the month, the Department of Public Health will report that 85 nursing homes residents have contracted COVID, 42 are hospitalized and 11 have died. “The first death is not unexpected, but it’s a shock. It’s a shock because it makes this so real for all of our families. Our hearts go out to that man and his family,” Lamont says. “Our hearts go out to all the families across the state of Connecticut and our great state.”