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November 12, 2020

Lamont eyes hospitalizations as 36 more people admitted for COVID-19

Photo | CT Mirror/MARK PAZNIOKAS A mobile hospital outside Saint Francis Hospital early in the pandemic.
By Kelan Lyons and Mark Pazniokas, CT Mirror

Amid a national surge in new cases, Gov. Ned Lamont took little comfort Wednesday in the daily rate of positive COVID-19 tests in the state falling to 4.76% from 6.74% the previous day, saying all trends point to a need for Connecticut residents to adhere to the recently tightened COVID restrictions.

“It’s not just the infection rate, but it’s the hospitalization rate,” Lamont told reporters after a Veterans Day observance in Middletown.

With 36 new hospitalizations, there now are 584 COVID-19 patients in Connecticut hospitals.

“You want to know what the metric is as we think about what we do in this state? It’s hospitalizations, because if we run out of capacity, then we’re in trouble,” Lamont said. “We never let that happen in the spring. We’re not going to let it happen now.”

Lamont said he saw no immediate need to begin creating emergency hospital space, as the state did in the spring with mobile Army hospitals that were deployed but never used. He said the state learned then how quickly those mobile units can be deployed.

With the current surge hitting increased numbers of the young and otherwise healthy, hospitals are finding that hospital stays for COVID are shorter now than in the spring.

“We still have a lot of capacity. We have better than 50% capacity, probably more capacity than just about any state in the country,” he said. “But the trend line’s not good.”

The U.S. reported more than 140,000 new cases Wednesday, a record that public health officials fear will be regularly broken in coming weeks and months.

arlier this week, the University of Connecticut at Storrs announced it would place over 500 students living in five residence halls under quarantine after officials identified 34 new cases, the highest number reported in a day since the onset of testing.

To date, 84,741 people have contracted the virus in Connecticut. More than 4,700 have died.

Earlier this week, a study published in the research journal Nature found that cafes, gyms and restaurants accounted for 80% of new coronavirus infections in the pandemic’s early months, from March to May.

Lamont answered sharply when asked if he would consider amending his restaurant restrictions, which require closing by 10 p.m., to allow anyone to be seated if they arrived before 10.

“No,” he said. “I’m sorry. I mean, we’re ramping up. I’m looking at other places where they have closed the restaurants down totally. We’re doing [everything] we can to keep our restaurants open.”

Lamont said he currently saw no need to return to the stricter days when all businesses except essential retail were closed. The stores have not been shown to pose a high risk, given that patrons wear masks and their stay is limited, he said.

An outlier among state correctional facilities

The Department of Correction reports that 84 of its staff members are recovering from the virus. Four incarcerated individuals have COVID-19 and are currently showing symptoms. Eleven inmates are infected with the virus but are asymptomatic, the bulk of whom are at Osborn Correctional Institution.he U.S. reported more than 140,000 new cases Wednesday, a record that public health officials fear will be regularly broken in coming weeks and months.

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