State reports no new deaths

Second time this week Connecticut saw zero deaths; hospitalizations, positive cases also dip

Connecticut on Friday reported no new coronavirusrelated deaths Friday as hospitalizations again started to decline and the positivity rate dipped to 0.6%

The state had reported its first zero-death day on Tuesday, which was also the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that Connecticut didn’t see at least one death. In total, the state has seen 4,348 coronavirus-related deaths.

After three straight days of slightly increasing hospitalizations the state once again reported a decline. That number dipped by 13 on Friday, for a total of 77.

“We’ve had another day of no COVID-related deaths in the state. I appreciate everyone’s support to help mitigate the impact of this virus on our state,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a tweet.

The state also reported an additional 78 coronavirus cases, for a total of 47,287. But those new cases were identified out of a total of 12,594 tests, which is significantly more tests than the state typically reports in a day.

Because of the large number of tests, the state’s positivity rate dipped on Friday to about 0.6%. The positivity rate reflects the number of COVID-19 cases discovered out of the total tests reported; a lower positivity rate indicates that the state is identifying a larger proportion of the

actual coronavirus cases.

This week, the state’s daily positivity rate has hovered around 1% — still lower than the World Health Organization’s recommended 5% — but on July 1 it hit a low of 0.5%.

“I’ve always cautioned against reading too much into one or two day’s data, but I’m pleased that as we head into the weekend our numbers remain good,” Lamont said in a statement later Friday afternoon. “A 0.6 percent positive test rate, hospitalizations at a very low level, and most importantly zero new deaths are further evidence our plan is working.

“We are counting on everyone to continue to wear face coverings, keep a distance, follow the guidelines, and get tested if you’re feeling any symptoms,” he continued. “Together, we can buck the negative trends we are seeing around the country.”

The New York Times reported Friday that most states remain far below the minimum level of testing needed to reduce the spread of the virus. Connecticut is among a dozen states meeting testing targets developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute.

The Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University reported Friday afternoon that nearly 134,000 people in the United States have died due to COVID-19-related

illness.

While the Friday data may indicate Connecticut is heading in the right direction, the state’s reopening plan remains indefinitely paused. State officials have said that they are gauging not only Connecticut’s progress, but the progress in other states as well. And with coronavirus cases spiking in states including Arizona, Florida and Texas, Gov. Ned Lamont said this week that he’s “erring on the side of the caution.”

Connecticut requires a 14-day quarantine for anyone returning to the state from 19 states with COVID-19 outbreaks.

New nursing home deaths, cases remain low

The number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state’s nursing remained relatively low this week, still only a fraction of what were reported just four weeks ago, but another 10 patients have died over the past week and another 47 have tested positive.

The spread of the virus among the state’s most vulnerable population in individual homes has slowed to a crawl, however, with most of the 215 nursing home facilities reporting no new cases or deaths and only one of either in most cases, according to new data released Friday. Three more assisted living facility residents, who are counted separately, have tested positive and one has died in that same time.

Governor’s House in Simsbury reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 in patients for the second week in a row out of a total of 46 residents there, the data show. Only one person has died at the facility since the pandemic began.

The largest and many of the hardest hit facilities, such as Riverside Health and Rehabilitation Center in East Hartford, reported no new cases or deaths this week. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal appeared outside the front doors of Riverside earlier this week to demand Congress approve $20 billion in emergency funding for longterm care facilities to build up their staffing, testing and equipment stockpiles.

The state also reported 38 new positive cases among nursing home staff, including the COVID-related death of one member of the staff at Jewish Senior Services in Bridgeport. Another 22 staff at assisted living facilities also have tested positive over the past week.

The number of cases and deaths at nursing assisted living facilities has fallen dramatically over the past month alongside the number of total cases statewide, indicating the spread of the virus has been largely contained now, but only after devastating Connecticut’s elderly population early this spring.

Combined, the 3,126 deaths in those long-term care facilities through Tuesday account for more than 70% of all coronavirus deaths recorded in Connecticut through the same date.