While COVID-19 tests administered in Connecticut hit the one million mark this week, Newtown’s latest numbers are holding relatively steady according to state Department of Public Health data.

Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert confirmed to The Newtown Bee August 19 that the 44 reported COVID-19 related deaths have remained unchanged for three weeks, and that she has only added a single positive case since last week, bringing the total to 258.

“The state still has us at 260 cases, but I’ve reported that two of those were false positives and it’s just taking some time to get them off the list,” the health official said of the slight disparity between her numbers and those available on Connecticut’s coronavirus page at ct.gov.

As of 8:30 pm on August 18, the total of cases reported among Connecticut residents was 51,314, including 49,289 laboratory-confirmed and 2,025 probable cases. Forty-nine patients were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 at that time, and the number of COVID-19-associated deaths stood at 4,457.

Governor Ned Lamont announced that as of August 19, more than one million COVID-19 PCR-based diagnostic tests have been recorded in Connecticut — an accomplishment that has helped the state remain one of the few in the nation to keep the virus contained to low levels of transmission throughout the summer.

“I am incredibly proud of the work that our agencies, state-contracted laboratories, and testing partners have done to ensure that we have a test available for everyone who needs one in our state,” Lamont said. “This is a significant milestone, but we have to continue these efforts and keep going. We’re committed to moving forward with initiatives that keep testing available in the state to protect our residents, maintain the progress of our safe reopening, and get children back to school. I want to thank our partners in both the public and private sectors that have made this milestone a reality.”

The state has implemented a variety of new and innovative efforts to ensure that testing is accessible for all residents with symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been exposed to COVID-19. The state has also created new, targeted testing programs to provide routine testing for those at greater risk to exposure, including those living or working in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, direct care workers and clients, incarcerated people and staff at correctional facilities, and residential college students and other individuals who live in congregate or group housing and densely populated urban communities.

This testing strategy, developed by the Connecticut Department of Public Health with support from public health and scientific experts on the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, focused on developing testing capacity at in-state labs and with local health care providers and has been instrumental in maintaining rapid turnaround times even as other states have experienced significant spikes in cases. During the month of August, the median time for a Connecticut test result to be delivered has been one day, and 75 percent of tests have been returned in two days or less.

This is in stark comparison to reports from other states, where test results often take a week or more to return, rendering contract tracing and isolation strategies ineffective. To support the state’s testing efforts, Governor Lamont has allocated at least $250 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund.

“Connecticut’s ability to significantly bolster its testing capacity — thanks to the incredible work of our agencies, testing partners and state-contracted labs — has proven to be a critical tool in addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency,” Lt Governor Susan Bysiewicz said. “Connecticut went from a state with one of the highest infection rates to one of the lowest because of our ability to test, treat, and track. This is especially important as students of all ages get ready to head back to school and businesses continue to reopen. Now more than ever, we must remain vigilant and continue to encourage residents to get tested, wear their masks, and practice proper social distancing.”

Pursuing Testing Capacity

“In addition to wearing a mask, social distancing, and isolation and quarantine when needed, the ability to test for COVID-19 is critical to informing our public health strategy to keep as many people safe and healthy as we reopen our economy and children go back to school,” said Acting Public Health Commissioner Dr Deidre S. Gifford.

“Connecticut has relentlessly pursued creating as much testing capacity as possible, working with in-state labs to greatly expand testing and reduce the delays seen in other states for getting results. We have also focused on providing easily available testing for high-risk populations with no out-of-pocket costs for the individual,” she added. “This is very important as an early warning system for any potential outbreaks. We continue to look for innovative ways to grow our testing efforts in conjunction with subject matter experts in and outside of government by exploring more broad-based methods like saliva testing and pool testing. I look forward to continuing the progress we have already made.”

“Testing our state’s essential and frontline workers has been an important part of our strategy,” State Comptroller Kevin Lembo said. “By utilizing rapid contracting with Connecticut labs, hospitals, and health systems, we’ve implemented aggressive and well-executed testing programs so our state’s direct care workers can continue providing critical services to those in need.”

“Connecticut has executed on a testing and public health strategy that has allowed us to safely reopen 95 percent of our economy,” said David Lehman, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). “Our business community has embraced the steps required to keep us on track, including the state’s testing strategy. I know that we can do what it takes to reopen if we continue the progress we’ve made in testing.”

Any resident who has symptoms of COVID-19 should be tested — and anyone who lives in a densely populated area, or in congregate housing should be tested regularly, whether they have symptoms or not. Residents can plug in a zip code and find their closest testing site by visiting portal.ct.gov/coronavirus.

The Departments of Public Health, Social Services, Agriculture, and Housing, the Office of the State Comptroller, Connecticut’s Congressional delegation, federally qualified health centers, Hartford Health Care, the Yale New Haven Health System, Griffin Hospital, PhysicianOne, Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Waterbury Hospital, Stamford Hospital, and many other community partners, including municipal leaders, legislative leaders, local public health officials, and members of the faith community continue to participate in this effort.

State-contracted laboratories that have processed hundreds of thousands of tests quickly include Genesys Diagnostics, the Jackson Laboratories, Yale New Haven Health System, Sema4, and Quest Diagnostics.

In Other News

The regional travel advisory between Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York that directs incoming travelers from states with a significant community spread of COVID-19 to self-quarantine for a 14-day period was updated today and now includes the states of Alaska and Delaware on the list of impacted locations. The state of Washington has been removed.

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or a state with a ten percent or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.

The Connecticut State Department of Education late last week released new Frequently Asked Questions regarding the reopening of K-12 public schools. The purpose of the updated document is to provide clarification on a variety of topics outlined in the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) Reopening Document.

View or download the revised FAQ by CLICKING HERE

On August 14, at the request of Governor Lamont, Lt Governor Bysiewicz — in her capacity as acting governor — signed an executive order — the 66th since the enactment of the emergency declarations — that builds upon efforts to encourage mitigation strategies that slow down transmission of COVID-19. Executive Order No. 7NNN enacts the following provisions:

Modifications to face covering requirements: This order replaces Executive Order No. 7BB, which required the wearing of face coverings in public places in Connecticut, with a similar order that requires anyone declining to wear a mask or face covering because of a medical condition to have documentation of the condition. It also contains provisions for people with disabilities to obtain such documentation without facing a significant burden.

Permission for DECD commissioner to establish size limits for private gatherings: Permits the commissioner of DECD to issue or amend sector rules to establish size limits for private gatherings of people who do not live in the same household, regardless of whether such gathering has been organized by a business.

It was also announced August 14 that more than 210,600 Connecticut households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will receive federal storm-related food replacement benefits. Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford announced that the US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approved $9.9 million in food assistance for Connecticut SNAP recipients statewide, based on an analysis of Tropical Storm Isaias power outages and federal guidelines for replacement benefits.

Gifford thanked FNS officials for their fast response to Connecticut’s appeal for replacement food benefits, noting that the infusion of federal aid will help families and individuals struggling in the storm’s aftermath and from the continuing economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This equates to replacement benefits ranging from $10 to over $230, depending on income and household size,” she said. “The average replacement benefit is estimated at $61.”

All 210,600 SNAP-enrolled households (nearly 387,000 people) will automatically receive 20 percent of their August benefit amount on a date to be announced by DSS after systems planning.

Individual requests for SNAP replacement benefits are also being handled by DSS, with information available at www.ct.gov/snap and www.endhungerct.org. If individual replacement benefits are requested, DSS will determine the amount of replacement benefits and exclude the recipient from the statewide automatic distribution.