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March 19, 2020

Connecticut’s coronavirus firsts: a death, and a nursing home case

Photo | CT Mirror/Mark Pazniokas Gov. Ned Lamont conducted his daily coronavirus briefing outside the Capitol with social distancing in mind.
By Mark Pazniokas, CT Mirror

Connecticut recorded its first coronavirus death Wednesday, an 88-year-old man who was hospitalized in Danbury after falling ill in a Ridgefield assisted-living facility, and state public-health staffers were dispatched to Stafford Springs at the other end of the state to investigate the first confirmed case in a nursing home.

The state now has 96 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus and officials assume the spread is far greater, but the positive test of a resident at the Evergreen Health Center in Stafford Springs was a worrisome milestone, given the threat of the virus to older people.

“We know that people of an advanced age and in certain conditions are among the most at risk of this disease, however I urge everyone in Connecticut – regardless of age or condition – to take an active role in doing their part to reduce the spread of this virus throughout our communities so we can protect one another,” Gov. Ned Lamont said.

Lamont, who held his daily briefing outside the State Capitol as a social-distancing measure, offered condolences to the family of the dead patient and acknowledged the broader impact on a state still struggling to absorb the breadth and depth of an unprecedented health crisis.

“The first death is not unexpected, but it’s a shock. It’s a shock, because it makes this so real for all of our families. Our hearts go out to that man and his family,” Lamont said, pausing for a moment of silence. “Our hearts go out to all the families across the state of Connecticut, and our great state and our great country.”

The Evergreen nursing home patient, who was hospitalized Monday at Johnson Memorial Hospital, was in a short-term unit that has since been quarantined, according to Tim Brown, a spokesman for Athena Health Care Systems, the owner of the 180-bed home.

“We have requested testing for each of our staff members and residents, and are awaiting further guidance from the state.  We have also requested additional personal protective equipment that will be needed in the weeks ahead through our trade association that is coordinating with the state,” Brown said.

It was not clear how long the patient had been at Evergreen. Brown said the company has been restricting visitors and following the other precautions urged by the state.

“At the start of this pandemic, we initiated a series of protections aimed at mitigating the threat of coronavirus at our center,” Brown said. “These include restricting visitors from Evergreen, taking the temperature of anyone who enters the facility, requiring anyone who enters the facility to complete a health questionnaire, and increasing monitoring of all residents every day.”

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