Name: Daily coronavirus updates: Lamont says there still no plans to impose more restrictions, as doctors warn of incoming surge of coronavirus patients
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Daily coronavirus updates: Lamont says there still no plans to impose more restrictions, as doctors warn of incoming surge of coronavirus patients

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantDec 07, 2020 at 6:33 pmGov. Ned Lamont said on Monday that he still does not have immediate plans to tighten Connecticut’s coronavirus-related restrictions, even as other states begin to impose additional restrictions in response to rising hospitalization numbers.“We’re following [hospitalization metrics] really closely ... and I think we’re going to have to wait a bit longer,” Lamont said at a Monday afternoon press briefing. “Not everything results in closing things down.”AdvertisementFor Friday through Sunday, the state reported a positivity rate of 6.5%, after identifying 8,129 new coronavirus cases out of 123,021 tests administered. The state’s daily positivity rate -- which measures the percent of tests that are positive for COVID-19 -- has jumped around in recent weeks, fluctuating from a low of 4.1% to a high of 7.1% in the past two weeks. Connecticut’s hospitalizations also ticked back up on Monday, adding 33 additional hospitalizations since Friday. There are now 1,183 people in the state hospitalized with coronavirus.The state also reported 78 coronavirus-linked deaths since Friday — that’s more than the state reported in the months of August and September combined.AdvertisementOn Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that the state would restrict or shut down indoor dining if hospitalization rates do not stabilize after five days. In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker said that hospitals would scale back elective surgeries as COVID-19 infections surge.Across the country, other states, including Washington and Michigan, have already closed indoor dining.At Monday’s briefing, Lamont acknowledged that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said when hospitals reach 85% capacity. Lamont said that threshold gives an “indication,” but declined to name a specific threshold of his own.Dr. Manisha Juthani, an infectious disease physician at Yale School of Medicine and a guest on the governor’s Monday briefing, said she believes indoor dining poses one of the most significant risks for coronavirus spread.“I feel that indoor dining is very risky. I don’t think it’s necessary to continue at this point,” Juthani said.She added that other places such as casinos and tanning salons are also risky and that even short-term closures — such as for the month of December or through January — would make a difference in stemming spread of the virus.Juthani said she was one of the medical workers who signed onto a letter to the governor at the end of November, asking him to shutter gyms and indoor dining. Although Lamont met with a number of the doctors who signed the letter, he has also said that he does not have plans to follow their advice.AdvertisementWhile the number of hospital patients appeared to plateau last week, Dr. Richard Martinello, medical director of infection prevention at Yale New Haven Health, said during a press call Monday that he’s seeing signs that the trend is about to reverse.“Over the last two days we’ve started to see an increase in how many patients we have in our hospital, and we’re very concerned because of all the travel that had occurred during the Thanksgiving holiday that now we may be, this week and next week, starting to see that surge,” Martinello said.Since the beginning of the pandemic, Connecticut has seen a total of 135,844 coronavirus cases and 5,224 coronavirus-linked deaths.AdvertisementNationwide, there have now been more than 14.8 million coronavirus cases and a total of 283,211 coronavirus deaths, according to .Also on Monday, Lamont announced that he will be signing an executive order that will allow pharmacies to administer the eventual COVID-19 vaccine.Although that step was expected, it’s also a crucial move toward distributing the vaccine to the state’s general population and its nursing home residents and staff.As it happensGet the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut &gt; Through , CVS and Walgreens will be chiefly responsible for administering a COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents across the country, including in Connecticut. Those vaccinations will take place during the first wave of vaccinations, which is called Phase 1A.Through , large chain pharmacies will also eventually be able to vaccinate other members of the general public, when they become eligible to receive the vaccine.“They’ve ramped up for this, they’ve prepared for this,” Lamont said of the state’s pharmacies.AdvertisementConnecticut Acting Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford that the state hopes to vaccinate everyone who wishes to be vaccinated by early fall 2021.Emily Brindley can be reached at . Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantDec 07, 2020 at 6:33 pmGov. Ned Lamont said on Monday that he still does not have immediate plans to tighten Connecticut’s coronavirus-related restrictions, even as other states begin to impose additional restrictions in response to rising hospitalization numbers.“We’re following [hospitalization metrics] really closely ... and I think we’re going to have to wait a bit longer,” Lamont said at a Monday afternoon press briefing. “Not everything results in closing things down.”AdvertisementFor Friday through Sunday, the state reported a positivity rate of 6.5%,...

Daily coronavirus updates: Lamont says there still no plans to impose more restrictions, as doctors warn of incoming surge of coronavirus patients

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