CT confirms 9 more coronavirus cases
Connecticut’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped to 20 on Saturday as the virus has spread into New Haven and Hartford counties with the state’s National Guard being called in to assist at hospitals.
The virus has begun to spread at a rate that the state is no longer providing confirmed cases by municipality. Instead, state officials said only county breakdowns were available Saturday.
State officials were not surprised by the spike in novel coronavirus infections, a total that includes 15 patients in Fairfield County, three in Litchfield County and one each in Hartford and New Haven counties. Several of those individuals have been treated or are being treated within the Yale New Haven
Health system, which includes Yale New Haven, Bridgeport and Greenwich hospitals.
“The number of cases announced (Saturday) reinforces for us what we knew was already going to happen: This virus is spreading, and it is here in Connecticut,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement. “I urge all of my fellow residents to take preventative measures like limiting large gatherings and keeping a safe social distance. Our state has taken critical measures to maximize public health and those steps will continue.”
On the same day, Norwalk officials confirmed their city’s first case, involving a man in his 40s. In neighboring Darien, First Selectwoman Jayme Stevenson said she had been informed of two more of her town’s residents testing positive.
In New York, state officials reported Saturday the state’s first fatality from the virus.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said an 82-year-old woman with emphysema died Friday at a hospital in New York City.
More than 500 New Yorkers have been diagnosed with the virus. One of them recently worked shifts at Danbury and Norwalk hospitals, marking Connecticut’s first confirmed exposure to the condition. Another was a physician who has seen some patients at Bridgeport Hospital.
More hospital cases
Area hospitals are increasingly feeling the effects of the pandemic.
The Yale New Haven Health system confirmed that its chief nursing executive and several patients have tested positive for COVID-19 and that another executive has been exposed to the virus.
Yale New Haven Health CEO Marna Borgstrom said in a memo Saturday to colleagues that the patients’ positive tests were “not unexpected as the CDC and public health officials made it clear that community transmission is occurring in the state of Connecticut. However, it does underscore the nature of this virus, which requires ongoing diligence and monitoring.”
Also Saturday, the Yale Daily News reported that a university “community member” had tested positive based on a preliminary test, while two others are undergoing evaluations at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Connecticut’s second confirmed case of a resident contracting the virus was a health care worker at Bridgeport Hospital in her 60s from Bethlehem. She is believed to have contracted the virus on a trip to Nevada.
Yale New Haven Health officials have not said publicly whether the Bethlehem woman or the New York doctor who worked at Bridgeport Hospital interacted with any of the infected patients.
Borgstrom did not mention in her letter those workers nor she did disclose any additional information about the affectx=ed patients such as where they were being treated.
In response to a Hearst Connecticut Media inquiry Saturday, a Yale New Haven Health spokesman said that he did not have additional information about those patients beyond what Borgstrom shared in the letter.
At the same time, Yale New Haven Health’s chief nursing executive, Beth Beckman, has tested positive and has self-isolated at home, according to Borgstrom.
“Beth is doing well and remains engaged in our daily operations,” Borgstrom said.
In addition, Yale New Haven Health’s chief clinical officer, Dr. Thomas Balcezak, has also been exposed the virus.
While Balcezak has tested negative and has no symptoms, he has self-quarantined at home for the next 14 days as a result of his wife’s positive test, Borgstrom said. He remains “engaged in our daily operations while working at home,” Borgstrom said.
At Bradley International Airport, a female passenger on a flight arriving Saturday morning was treated by emergency medical teams for flu-like symptoms. The plane was isolated to the de-icing area.
The woman was taken to the hospital, and the flight was cleared by officials to resume regular operations.
More state and local orders
In another effort to mitigate the virus’ impact, Lamont signed Saturday his third executive order since the enactment of state emergency declarations last week.
The latest order contains a number of provisions, including a loosening of open-meeting requirements — a change aimed at minimizing large gatherings, while maintaining safeguards to provide remote public access. On Thursday, Lamont announced an order that bans gatherings of more than 250 people in the state.
At the same time, Lamont gave permission for pharmacists to compound and sell hand sanitizer and waived requirements for pharmacists to use certain personal protective equipment when working with non-hazardous, sterile compounds.
In addition, Lamont authorized refunds of liquor permit fees for special events that have since been canceled and waived faceto-face interview requirements for cash subsidies distributed through the Temporary Family Assistance program.
Lamont also let the commissioner of Early Childhood and Office of Health Strategy waive certain requirements to help maintain adequate access to day care and health care.
Following school closures announced across the state in the past few days, local officials have also rolled out more orders intended to slow the virus’ spread.
Norwark Mayor Rilling declared Saturday a civilpreparedness emergency in his city.
Rilling said the proclamation would give him more authority to make decisions that might be related to closing various events and other forms of social distancing, while it would also allow the city to seek any available state or federal funding.
The declaration would remain in effect until Rilling ends it.
“It’s a good idea to declare a local emergency to allow me to exercise any authority that I have,” Rilling said in a phone interview with Hearst Connecticut Media.
Federal restrictions grow, Trump tested for virus
In Washington, D.C.,
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. would expand its European travel restrictions to include the United Kingdom and Ireland.
On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency — a move aimed at accessing up to $50 billion in relief funds. Last week, he signed an $8.3 billion emergency bill that passed Congress with bipartisan and nearunanimous support.
But Trump has faced strong criticism from many Congressional Democrats, who say his administration has generally been too slow and ineffective in its response to the pandemic. Those critics assert that limiting access from Europe would do little to stem the virus’ spread within the U.S.
Also Saturday, Trump announced that he had undergone testing for the virus.
Trump had held out on testing for days, despite interacting with at least three people who have since tested positive for the virus. He had said Friday that he would probably take the test at some point, but the White House doctor said as recently as Friday night that no test was needed because Trump was not showing symptoms.
But Trump said he had gone ahead with the test after repeated questions from reporters at a news conference Friday. He told reporters at a White House briefing Saturday that he had his temperature taken before stepping into the room and it was “totally normal.”
The White House also announced that it had started conducting temperature checks on anyone coming into close contact with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Those checked include reporters attending the Saturday briefing.