Name: Death rate slows and hospitalizations drop, but lawmaker warns Gov. Lamont about moving too fast to reopen Connecticut
Brand: courant.com
SKU: courant-com-11
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Death rate slows and hospitalizations drop, but lawmaker warns Gov. Lamont about moving too fast to reopen Connecticut

preview

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMay 04, 2020 at 7:39 pmDespite news that the COVID-19 death rate has appeared to slow and the state’s hospitalizations have continued to drop, a state lawmaker said Connecticut may be moving too fast to try to begin reopening closed businesses starting on May 20.State Sen. Saud Anwar, who appeared with Gov. Ned Lamont at his press briefing Monday, said he is worried that reopening businesses too early could result in a second COVID-19 surge.Advertisement“The responsible thing in my mind would be to see what is happening in other states and other countries,” said Anwar, a pulmonary specialist. “I want to have Connecticut follow a scientific basis, rather than an emotional need.”On Monday, Lamont announced 61 new coronavirus-associated deaths Monday, significantly fewer than was typical during the height of Connecticut’s outbreak last month. Additionally, Connecticut hospitals had 24 fewer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 than the day before, marking the 12th straight day of more discharges than admissions.Advertisement“The death rate, blessedly, is slightly lower the last five days than it was the previous five days,” Lamont said.In total, the state has recorded 30,173 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 2,556 deaths linked to the disease.On a day when Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York outlined for reopening his state (including specific rates of testing, contact tracing and hospital-bed vacancy), Lamont remained more general in explaining his timeline.“To me, I’m looking at the infection rate, and obviously we’re looking at hospitalizations in terms of our capacity there,” Lamont said. “I’m looking at making sure we have the testing capacity in place so we can see flare-ups as they come over the radar screen. That’s all why we focused on May 20.”Lamont has previously described : a two-week decline in hospitalizations, increased testing, increased contact tracing, adequate health care capacity, adequate supply of personal protective equipment, the ability to protect high-risk populations and the implementation of physical distancing rules in public places.The governor said he would continue to monitor the state’s outbreak after businesses re-open and could close them a second time if that became necessary.“If you find on May 27 that we’ve had some flare-ups and it looks like nail salons are risky, we can always throttle it back,” Lamont said. “But I hope we don’t have to do that.”Under her new plan to ensure safe and secure voting this year, Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said she will send out absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in the state and pay the postage for their ballots.AdvertisementThe absentee ballot initiative is among Merrill’s priorities for the August presidential primary and November general election. Under Merrill’s plan, her office will also provide grants to municipalities that submit staffing and cleaning plans intended to keep poll workers and voters safe from the coronavirus. Merrill’s office also plans to both recruit and train general election poll workers and then send them to municipalities where they are needed.To protect students and school employees, the plan will require all schools to close on the day of elections.The presidential primary, originally scheduled for April 28, has been postponed to August 11 because of the coronavirus. The general election is still scheduled for November 3, and could only be delayed by Congress.“No Connecticut voter should ever have to choose between their health and their right to vote,” Merrill said in a release. “This plan is designed to ensure that Connecticut’s elections will be safe, secure, and accessible to every eligible voter who wants to participate.”In other coronavirus news:Disability Rights Connecticut filed a formal complaint against the state of Connecticut on Monday, claiming the state is ignoring requests for reasonable accommodation and failing to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to health care during the coronavirus pandemic.AdvertisementThe advocacy group filed the complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.The complaint argues that the state’s strict hospital visitation policies are effectively barring people with disabilities from accessing the interpreters and family members who typically allow them to communicate with medical staff. By so doing, the complaint argues, the state is preventing people with disabilities from accessing appropriate medical care.“As a result of Connecticut’s policy, individuals with disabilities are being denied equal access to medical treatment,” the complaint says.As it happensGet the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut &gt; The complaint includes three examples of people who have been denied visitors even though they need assistance communicating to the medical staff.AdvertisementEmily Brindley can be reached at . Alex Putterman can be reached at . Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMay 04, 2020 at 7:39 pmDespite news that the COVID-19 death rate has appeared to slow and the state’s hospitalizations have continued to drop, a state lawmaker said Connecticut may be moving too fast to try to begin reopening closed businesses starting on May 20.State Sen. Saud Anwar, who appeared with Gov. Ned Lamont at his press briefing Monday, said he is worried that reopening businesses too early could result in a second COVID-19 surge.Advertisement“The responsible thing in my mind would be to see what is happening in other states and other countries,”...

Death rate slows and hospitalizations drop, but lawmaker warns Gov. Lamont about moving too fast to reopen Connecticut

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS