Today’s reopening is a ‘go’

Lamont, experts say measures have the virus under control

Gov. Ned Lamont pronounced all systems go Tuesday, the eve of Connecticut’s partial reopening, reporting that the coronavirus outbreak that caused him to shut down nonessential businesses in mid-March was sufficiently under control.

Two high-profile experts expressed a similarly optimistic outlook during a virtual news conference, lauding the state’s “thoughtful” approach to reopening. One of them, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, seemed to at least implicitly advocate delaying the casinos’ reopening, a position the governor has taken.

Lamont said COVID-19 cases in the state had grown by 314 to 38,430, a one-day increase representing less than 5% of the 7,841 new tests performed, “the lowest (percentage) we’ve seen in a couple of months.” Tests are now being performed at the rate of more than 50,000 per week, surpassing a goal of 42,000 per week, he said.

Hospitalizations fell again, to 914, and the pace of deaths slowed, with 23 additional fatalities bringing the state’s toll to 3,472. In New London County, the number of cases climbed to 880 and the number of deaths stayed at 66. Lawrence + Memorial Hospital had 20 COVID-19 patients. Westerly Hospital had none and

Backus Hospital, four.

“I think it is good news, given where we thought we should be on the day before May 20th,” the governor said. “These are trend lines that give us confidence that what we’re doing tomorrow with our slow and methodical reopening, the timing is right and we’ve hit the key metrics that we thought we would.”

As of Wednesday, restaurants can serve food and alcohol outdoors, and some retail stores and offices can

open while adhering to social distancing guidelines and ensuring employees and patrons wear masks.

Emanuel, an oncologist, University of Pennsylvania professor and founding chairman of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, joined Lamont along with Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a Wesleyan graduate and Westport resident who headed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and serves on Pfizer's board of directors. Both advised Connecticut's

reopening task force.

Emanuel said Connecticut is “a really good example of a place where public health measures have worked,” and the state's recent focus on increasing testing capacity, protecting vulnerable populations such as those in nursing homes and prisons, and promoting social distancing and face-mask wearing bode well for the reopening.

In restarting the economy, “You need to get to that sweet spot — places where the public health risks are low or you can lower them by moving activities outside and the economic impact is large,” he said. “There are some areas where it's clear that the public health risks are very high and the economic benefits are very low. The state should be hesitant about rushing into opening those. I personally am very nervous about casinos for exactly that reason ... You can't go outside ... you have a high concentration of elderly people and the economic benefits are not large to the state either in terms of employment or in terms of the number of GDP, but the risks to people's health are very, very high.”

In southeastern Connecticut, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun employ some 10,000 people, most of whom have been furloughed or laid off since March 17, when the pandemic prompted the casinos to close. The number of unemployment claims filed by residents in the region has spiked, prompting lawmakers to urge Lamont to take action.

While the casinos have yet to announce reopening dates, Lamont, while vague, has said it's too soon for them to do so. Mohegan Sun has a plan to launch a phased reopening June 1.

Gottlieb said Connecticut has to continue to ramp up testing and track down the contacts of those who have the coronavirus. It's got to encourage people to get tested and focus testing efforts among atrisk populations, he said.

“As we reopen, we know there's going to be an uptick in (COVID-19) cases. Hospitalizations will grow,” he said. “That's why the phased reopening is important. Increased

social interactions will increase cases but wearing masks, hygiene and social distancing will limit it.”

Summer should have some impact on the disease, he said, because it will enable outdoor activity that is much safer than indoor activity and because respiratory infections don't spread as efficiently in warmer weather.

The virus will threaten again in the fall, but by then drug treatments, better testing and other practices should be in place, Gottlieb said.