Connecticut cases ‘accelerating’
Real number is probably much higher than official tally of 68; EB employees quarantined
Connecticut’s confirmed coronavirus cases numbered 68 as of late Tuesday afternoon, but it’s likely that many times more state residents are infected, Gov. Ned Lamont said during his daily update on the state’s response to the outbreak.
The number reflects 27 additional cases since Monday.
“It’s been accelerating through the state,” Lamont said. “... Fairfield County is where the bulk of the incidents are, but now Litchfield County and Hartford, New Haven. Southeast Connecticut is thankfully the last to have an incident there but we know it’s coming.”
The county-by-county breakdown of cases is Fairfield, 48; New Haven, 8; Hartford, 7; and Litchfield, 5.
Only the lack of testing for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is limiting the number of confirmed cases, officials say.
EB sends home eight workers
At Electric Boat, a New London-based employee who showed symptoms is quarantined at home pending the results of a test ordered by the employee’s health care provider, according to EB spokeswoman Liz Power. The employee’s child had contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.
Seven additional EB employees who work in close proximity to the employee were sent home Tuesday to self-quarantine as a precautionary measure, Power said.
The latest incident follows a scare last week involving a different EB employee who was part of a group of about 30 employees who showed symptoms after taking part in offsite training. All of the employees were sent home late last week. After the employee tested negative for COVID-19, his colleagues were told they could return to work Monday.
EB is operating as usual, but is urging all directors and managers to be as flexible as they can be, given the
circumstances, Power said.
It was reported last week that a Rhode Island child who attended a Mystic child care facility had tested positive for COVID-19. That child has been included in Rhode Island’s coronavirus statistics, not Connecticut’s.
Casinos closing
Lamont said steps he and other governors announced Tuesday had slowed business activity and that he expected the hospitality industry to feel the impact.
In southeastern Connecticut, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun informed their employees that they had voluntarily agreed to close for two weeks, effective at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
“We will make every effort to ensure this process is streamlined and timely, working with our current in-house guests, team members and tenants to ensure a seamless closure,” Foxwoods said in a statement.
The Mashantucket Pequot-owned casino said it will furlough employees for two weeks.
“During this timeframe,” the casino said, “team members can utilize benefit time, with all benefits remaining in place. Hourly team members will be able to apply for the Team Member Emergency Assistance Fund. Those not impacted by the furlough will include a reduced team from facilities, security, communications and leadership.”
Mohegan Sun’s president and general manager, Jeff Hamilton, said in a statement that the casino’s senior leadership team “will do all it can to support our team members through this difficult time, and that support will continue during the temporary closure.”
Lamont said 10,000 people had applied for unemployment compensation on a single day this week, an indication of the severity of the situation.
He said his administration was working to expand benefits, extend paid sick leave programs and ensure that COVID-19 testing is free for all residents, as the federal government has said it will be.
He urged day care centers to stay open and said he was looking into securing housing for homeless residents who may need to quarantine.
A number of hospitals in the state, including Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, have opened satellite drive-through facilities where patients suspected of having COVID-19 can be swabbed and the samples sent for testing. Patients must have a doctor’s order to undergo the procedure.
L+M reported that its drivethrough facility saw 14 patients Wednesday, its first day of operation.
Asked if he was considering issuing a “shelter in place” policy, Lamont said, “Not yet.”