HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday there are indications the surge of COVID-19 cases in Connecticut is “flattening out,” but implored residents to remain vigilant and continue to adhere to the state’s strict social distancing measures.
The Democrat warned “this is no time for ‘Happy Days Are Here Again,’” referring to the upbeat song used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s campaign even though people were still suffering the effects of the Great Depression. Lamont said his administration is working with New York and Pennsylvania officials on a thoughtful and safe way the region can eventually emerge from the coronavirus crisis.
“And that means starting with social distancing,” he said. “’Hey dude – keep your distance.’ I want to hear that wherever I go.”
As of Tuesday, 1,308 people were hospitalized in Connecticut with COVID-19, an increase of 87 from Monday. Lamont noted how the state has averaged 80-to-90 additional hospitalizations each day for the past five days. While Lamont admitted “five days does not make a trend,” he said “at least we can say we are flattening out.”
There have been 277 virus-related deaths in the state.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
In other developments around Connecticut:
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CALLS
A special police unit in Hartford will handle a surge in domestic violence calls believed to be linked to social isolation measures imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
Two officers during the day and two at night will respond only to domestic violence calls and will give victims information on services including safe houses and counseling, Mayor Luke Bronin said. The city is working with Interval House, a nonprofit group.
Bronin said there was a 20% increase in domestic violence calls to police over the past week, but officials worry many cases are not being reported.
“We’ve asked everybody to stay home,” Bronin said Monday. “But the tragic reality is that as we take those measures to keep our community safe, it also means that there are those in our community, in our neighborhood and loved ones who may be at greater risk and who suffer in this time of isolation.”
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NURSING HOME CASES
COVID-19 cases in nursing homes around the state have more than doubled since Friday.
The state is reporting that 477 nursing home residents have tested positive for the virus as of Monday, including 142 who were hospitalized and 65 who have died. More than 70 of the 215 nursing homes in the state have had at lease one confirmed case of COVID-19.
On Friday, officials said 221 residents had tested positive, including 80 who were hospitalized and 23 who had died. There were 48 nursing homes reporting at least one case of COVID-19.
Gov. Ned Lamont has announced financial incentives, including Medicaid rate increases, for Connecticut nursing homes that agree to house only COVID-19 positive residents, a move aimed at preventing the system from being overwhelmed by the outbreak. The governor’s office was expected to release a list of COVID-19-only nursing homes this week.
At one nursing home and rehabilitation center in Milford, nearly half the residents have tested positive for the disease. As of Friday, Golden Hill Rehab Pavilion had 44 positive cases and at least one family said it learned a relative contracted the disease only after he died, Hearst Connecticut Media reported. Lamont’s COO Josh Geballe said the administration is looking into the situation.
The executive director of the care center, Andrew Wildman, said in a statement to News12 Connecticut that Golden Hill is notifying families “timely and as appropriate,” and that staff members have “plenty” of protective equipment and are having their temperatures checked daily.
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MEDICAL SUPPLIES LACKING
Health care workers of all types in Connecticut are continuing to complain they don’t have the supplies they need to protect themselves from COVID-19, including highly sought-after N95 face masks. Visiting nurses, medical staff at psychiatric facilities, nursing home employees and others voiced their concerns Tuesday to Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal on a conference call, urging him to help Connecticut secure more personal protective equipment.
Joel Reeves, a mental health worker at Natchaug Hospital, a Hartford Healthcare psychiatric drug and alcohol facility in Mansfield, said employees have been given one regular ear-loop mask and a paper bag. He said workers must wear the mask “for at least a week unless it’s visibly soiled” and then place it in the paper bag at the end of their shift.
“It’s not good. You’re supposed to change those every two to three hours on a normal day,” he said. “To be wearing one for eight hours and then to put it in a brown paper bag and use it again the next day, the day after that, the day after that, it’s not good.”
Lamont said he’s aware of the continuing problem and has been talking with senior-level executives at various manufacturers, trying to secure more equipment.
“I know how serious this is. I know the risk people are taking,” he said. “And we’re doing everything we can to keep you safe.”
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