Second COVID-19 case in CT confirmed; Gov. Lamont says ‘We are prepared’ for disease

“Hope for the best, expect the worst,” is how the state is going about addressing the COVID-19 crisis, Gov. Ned Lamont said at a press conference on Monday.

Speaking at Bristol Health, the governor said that “Connecticut has one of the best hospital systems in the world,” and announced that a second test kit ”“ which can test up to 600 individuals ”“ has been received.

Fewer than 50 tests have been conducted to date, Lamont said. “We are prepared.”

Later in the afternoon, the governor announced the second presumptive case of coronavirus in the state; officials said the person is being treated at Bridgeport Hospital. Lamont said more information regarding the second positive case will be made available after the patient and their family have been notified.

The state Department of Public Health on Sunday confirmed the state”™s first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 that involved a Wilton resident. The patient was identified as being between 40 and 50 years old. The Public Health Department said the infection may have occurred when the individual was on a recent trip to California. The patient is being treated at Danbury Hospital.

Earlier Monday, the governor issued new guidance on COVID-19 to state employees, including an immediate freeze on their traveling on state business outside of Connecticut until further notice.

The new guidance also includes:

• Any employees working with out-of-state contractors who travel to Connecticut-based sites or employees planning to welcome out-of-state colleagues or other out-of-state visitors should evaluate if the activities can be done online or through teleconference. If so, that should be done.
• Any state of Connecticut-organized large meetings, conferences or gatherings that are anticipated to have over 100 people in attendance between now and April 30 will be evaluated to determine if the events should move to teleconference or be postponed.
• For meetings or events with large numbers of people within arm’s length of each other, those 70 years old or older, those with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, chronic lung diseases or severely weakened immune systems should dial in or not attend.
• Any employee with a state-issued laptop is asked bring it home every night to ensure flexibility.
• The use of disinfectants will be increased when cleaning state office buildings and the frequency of disinfectant cleaning will be increased. The focus will be on common touch points.

“We’re sending the same message to students,” Lamont said in Bristol. “No need to go home over spring vacation.” If students choose to do so anyway, Lamont said they should self-quarantine and self-monitor for 14 days.

“This is a message we’re taking to private employers around the state as well,” the governor added.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal then spoke, crediting Lamont with his “calm, vigilant and vigorous reaction to this crisis.”

A frequent critic of the Trump administration, Blumenthal went on to say that “Deception and denial are not a strategy …. there has been too much lowballing and bungling” at the federal level.

The senator said the test kits promised by Vice President Mike Pence have been “inexcusably late.

“We cannot know the rate or the route of infection without prompt and thorough testing,” he added.

Blumenthal also warned that “We are facing a threatened economic whirlwind. We need to aid businesses, especially small businesses, as they face possible sick leave on the part of their employees.”

Encouraging sick employees to stay home, and calling for employers to allow them to do so, Blumenthal said the federal government “must provide assistance for sick leave. It should be paid sick leave, but small businesses should not be asked to shoulder the burden without aid from the federal government. That’s our next challenge.”

The senator further called upon the Trump administration to “enlist a new economic team” to provide an economic stimulus plan.