State’s hospitals near capacity as virus cases continue to rise
Nearly all of the beds at two Connecticut hospitals are full and the intensive care units are close to capacity at two other hospitals as COVID-19 effects are taking a firmer grip on the state.
In recent days, Connecticut has surpassed the nation as a whole on the number of daily cases per 100,000, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state has surpassed all over northeast states except for New Jersey.
Connecticut's neighbor to the east has the highest rate of new cases per 1 million people over the last seven days in the entire U.S., according to the COVID Tracking Project.
As the cases have been rising, 78 percent of all Connecticut hospital beds are occupied and 59 percent of ICU beds are full, according to Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer.
“Of those, 36 percent of the state’s ICU beds are occupied by COVID patients,” he said.
“It is worth pointing out that that’s a statewide average. When you go look at an individual hospital, there are certainly some that have much higher percentages than the state
wide averages as you’d expect, and some that have much lower averages.”
As of Thursday, Stamford Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury stood at around 90 percent total occupancy, the highest in the state.
Manchester Memorial Hospital reported around 90 percent occupancy of its ICU beds, while St. Francis Hospital in Hartford reported 92 percent.
While 48 fewer COVID hospitalizations were reported Thursday, the number of deaths associated with the disease increased by nearly the same number.
State health officials recorded
42 more deaths from the disease, bringing the statewide death toll to 5,327.
But Geballe said only about half of the deaths attributed to the virus occur in hospitals. “And then that usually is a small portion relative to the number of healthy discharges that occur from the hospital,” he said.
The number of people hospitalized for the illness now stands at
1,214.
On Thursday, 2,431 new COVID cases were found in 36,659 tests creating a daily positivity rate of 6.63 percent. The sevenday positivity rate hovers just below 7 percent.
Asked whether contact tracing showed links to Thanksgiving gatherings, Gov. Ned Lamont pointed to rising infections.
“Obviously, the infections have gone up, especially over the last week or so,” the governor said. Some of that could be related to gatherings over the Thanksgiving holiday, he said, or could be associated with the “thousands” of college students coming home or leaving the state ahead of the holiday.
That comes as the U.S. reported Wednesday more than 3,000 new deaths in a day for the first time, shattering previous records, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The governor remarked on the grim statistic Thursday, noting Wednesday ranked third-highest in the nation’s history for fatalities in a single day due to a deadly event — surpassed only by the damage wrought on Galveston, Texas in 1900, and the Battle of Antietam during the Civil War.
The news comes as the state is waiting for the Food and Drug Administration to decide on an emergency use authorization for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
The United Kingdom has already approved the Pfizer vaccine and began using it this week. Canada issued its own authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, a panel of experts, formally voted to recommend the FDA grant the emergency use authorization.
“Friday, we hope to get the green light and the emergency authorization,” Lamont said. “Shipments should go out soon after, we’re counting on Monday, Tuesday.”
The state is still expecting to receive around 32,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in its first shipment, Geballe said.
The governor said he feels the federal government is getting the vaccine rollout “as right” as it got shipments of protective gear “wrong” in the spring.
“This time, not perfect, but they made massive purchases from Pfizer, big purchases from Moderna, Astra Zenica if they’re coming along as well,” Lamont said. “My fingers are crossed we got it right this time.”
Moderna has submitted its vaccine candidate for an emergency use authorization from the FDA and could be approved about a week after Pfizer’s. Astra Zenica’s has not yet been submitted to the agency.
The governor has faced pressure from both sides, with some groups seeking more restrictions, and others calling for restaurants and other venues to remain open.
A group of restaurant workers plans to demonstrate outside the governor’s mansion Monday to call for more financial help. Gym and fitness center owners have petitioned Lamont to allow them to stay open.
Meanwhile, a group of educators protested outside the Capitol Thursday, calling for the governor to improve safety measures at schools or send students entirely to remote learning.
Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull said her department has summarily suspended the liquor licenses of three restaurants found violating the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
“When people go to these places, you’re not just putting yourself at risk — communities, the health care workers who then have to deal with hospitalized patients,” Seagull said. “It’s also not fair to all the other businesses that are following the rules.”
But Lamont said he’s hoping a vaccine will soon bring everyone relief.
“I think this is going to be a new spring for Connecticut and our country,” he said.