UPDATE (March 5, 2020 - 4:05pm): This story has been updated adding a statement from Newtown's Winterset Ski Club, which is currently on a vacation tour in northern Italy.

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While new global, national, or regional developments regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus seem to be appearing in the media virtually every hour, Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert is working to organize, digest, and disseminate the information that is most relevant locally.

By late afternoon March 4, Culbert had logged conference calls with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), reviewed a number of messages from the Connecticut Department of Health (DPH), helped Newtown Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue script a letter on the issue to circulate to district parents, consulted with several private school representatives, and helped create a bulletin that was issued from First Selectman Dan Rosenthal’s office.

And then there are the phone calls.

“So many phone calls — and e-mails,” Culbert told The Newtown Bee during a momentary breather around 4 pm Wednesday. She also wants to communicate with any local travelers who are returning from areas of infection that are designated Warning Level 3 travel zones, which she said includes Iran, China, South Korea, and Italy.

According to the CDC, Warning Level 3 is an advisory to avoid all nonessential travel to such destinations, as the outbreak is of high risk.

That includes a group from Newtown’s Winterset Ski Club that departed for Milan, Italy, on February 28. Upon arrival in Milan, they immediately boarded a bus for a resort six hours north in Val Di Fassa. Most of that group is planning to return home Sunday, March 8, according to Winterset Board member Mary Ann Jacob, who reached out to The Newtown Bee several time with updates.

In a call Wednesday afternoon, she said a dwindling number of ski tour members were still planning to stay a few extra days for a side trip to Lake Como in Italy’s Lombardy region about 25 miles north of Milan. While those plans could change for other group members, Jacob said she and her husband are not extending their stay beyond this weekend.

At about 3:30 pm Thursday, March 5, the club posted the following message on its Facebook page: "Thanks to all our friends and family who have reached out to check in on our members who are traveling in Italy. They are all safe and healthy and are coordinating their return trip with our travel agent.

All travelers have been informed of the CDC recommendations to self monitor in their homes for 14 days," the messsage continued. "We are also in communication with our local health district and have encouraged each member to check in with them upon their arrival home. Italy will be screening each passenger as they arrive at the airport for departure, and we are told to expect screening when they arrive back in the US as well — please wish them well as they travel home."

On Wednesday Jacob said the approximately 30 Winterset Club members and guests on the trip began discussing the virus issue “a week or two ahead of departure.”

“Up until we were leaving, all indications pointed to where we were traveling was safe — the virus was not spreading in regions where we are,” she said via a phone call. As developments changed quickly and as new cases of the virus were identified, Jacob said the warning designation in parts of Italy increased from Warning Level 2 to Level 3 between when the group was departing the US and when they arrived in Milan.

“There was no indications of canceling the trip,” she said. “It was left up to individuals on whether they wanted to go. Several opted out because they were concerned about being able to get back.”

“Life Is Normal Here”

Upon arrival in Milan, Jacob said she donned a protective mask but only saw “relatively few people in the airport also wearing them.”

“Life is normal here, bars and restaurants are open,” Jacob said, adding that resorts in the region where she is staying seem to be doing brisk business, and she is seeing “no masks, just like in areas of the US with no [cases reported]. But the cases being identified in New York and Rhode Island have me as concerned as people who are returning from overseas.

“If we saw warnings were at Level 3 before we left, we may have made a different choice,” she said. “None of us want to get sick or make friends or family members sick.”

Jacob said her husband was already notified by his employer that anyone returning from international travel must self-isolate for 14 days before returning to work. She said she will follow the latest directive from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

On March 4, Lamont was urging all Connecticut residents who have recently traveled out of the country or who are planning international travel to continue following guidance issued by the CDC regarding the coronavirus. Guidance for travelers is posted on the CDC’s website and continues to be updated as needed at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, the CDC was advising anyone who has recently returned from a country designated as Level 3 — which currently include China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea — to self-monitor in their homes for 14 days upon returning to the United States.

Anyone who has recently returned from a country designated as Level 2 — which currently includes Japan — should limit their interactions with others for 14 days after returning to the United States.

“Anyone who is planning travel, particularly internationally, is strongly urged to follow the CDC’s ongoing guidance and take it seriously,” Lamont said.

Symptoms of the coronavirus can include fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher), cough, and shortness of breath. People who have recently traveled to one of these identified locations and are feeling sick should call ahead before visiting a doctor’s office or emergency room; tell the doctor about recent travel and the symptoms being experienced; avoid contact with others; and should not travel while sick.

Here in Newtown, the health district director assured The Newtown Bee, “We remain tuned in to the changing information coming from the CDC and CT DPH.”

“Having met with the core emergency management team, and Dan [Rosenthal] and Lorrie [Rodrigue], I feel strongly that our community can work to blunt the impact of this virus,” Culbert said. “We do not have a vaccine or medical countermeasures, but we do have the will of the community — or at least that is what I am wanting to rally.”

“We have a personal responsibility to ourselves, our families, and our community to limit the effect of COVID-19,” she added. “If we do all that we can do to the best of our ability, we can make a difference.”

Localized Preparedness Tips

To that end, Newtown’s health district leader helped coordinate some of the updates being circulated through Newtown News & Announcements e-mail blasts, which are also available on the Town website, newtown-ct.gov.

That message, in part, states, “Information about COVID-19 is rapidly changing — the Newtown Health District is closely following this information to remain current about the virus, its transmission, its resulting illness, effective care for patients, and limiting its spread. The Health District receives daily briefings and updates from state and federal health agencies and responds and advises accordingly.”

The sources of the information being shared include the CDC, the CT Department of Public Health, and WHO (the World Health Organization).

“The coming weeks/months will reveal the extent of virus transmission and potential impact on our lives,” the latest notice states. “We ALL need to take action to reduce transmission, illness and deaths, as well as social and economic impacts to our lives.”

Those personal actions should include:

*Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer with an alcohol content of at least 60 percent.

*Not touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

*Covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throwing the tissue in the trash.

*Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.

Culbert also offered tips specific to a number of related issues:

ENVIRONMENTAL — Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in your home, school, workplace, and anywhere else you spend time.

IF SICK, STAY HOME — If you or a family member, are sick, stay home. Limit interactions with others to the maximum extent possible.

WHEN SICK AT HOME — If possible, isolate the sick person to one room or area, and to the use of one bathroom. If that is not possible, have only one person in the home help take care of or interact with the sick person, and clean “common touch areas” (door knobs, faucets, etc) often.

BUSINESSES — Ideally, business owners/managers will work with employees to agree how employees may stay home when they are sick themselves or caring for sick children. Businesses should have a continuity plan in the event they are impacted directly by the virus.

RETURNING TRAVELERS — Depending on the areas traveled to, residents returning home from traveling to China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, or Japan may be required to self-quarantine with local public health supervision.

The Newtown Health District requests that travelers who do not hear from the Health District within 24 hours of their return contact Donna Culbert, Director of Health at donna.culbert@newtown-ct.gov or call 203-270-4291.

STAY INFORMED — In addition to links at top of page, reference information can be found on the Newtown Health District COVID-19 web page — newtown-ct.gov/newtown-health-district/news/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19 — as well as at newtownbee.com, which will post updates as needed.

Readers are encouraged to check this website regularly for any updates, and to follow The Newtown Bee’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, where breaking news and information is typically posted within minutes to hours of it going public.