Responding to increasing alarm about the spread of the 2019 coronavirus, Gov. Ned Lamont joined governors in nearby states and declared both a public health emergency and a civil preparedness emergency on Tuesday.
A public health emergency gives the state power over quarantine, while a civil preparedness emergency grants the governor broad powers over state institutions, allowing him to restrict travel, close public schools and buildings and more.
“We don’t do this lightly,” Lamont said. “We’ve got to be prepared for what is happening.”
Connecticut currently has four confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, but officials anticipate a spike as the virus spreads and testing continues.
Governors across the country have taken similar steps in recent days, including those in New York, Rhode Island and, most recently, Massachusetts. According to NBC, the United States now has more than 800 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than two dozen deaths.
Lamont had said as recently as Monday that he was not ready to declare a state of emergency.
Lamont said Tuesday that one patient who has tested positive for the coronavirus lives in Bethlehem and has grandchildren in the school system there. With that in mind, all Region 14 schools will close until next week so school buildings can be deep cleaned and disinfected.
So far, Connecticut has tested 75 patients for the coronavirus, including 19 tests Tuesday for which the state is awaiting results.
Connecticut currently has two COVID-19 testing kits, each of which can administer between 500 and 600 tests. Lamont said the state hopes to increase testing capacity in state labs from 20-25 people a day to about 60. Testing has also been conducted at private labs, but a Lamont spokesperson said he does not know the capacity there.
The emergency declaration “gives us the opportunity to give us more testing capacity faster,” Lamont said. “We’re ready to ramp up our testing capacity in a dramatic way. The only way that we can get that done statewide is if I have the opportunity and the ability to speed up some of the public health regulations that will give some of these amazing providers that chance” to increase testing.
Patients with potential coronavirus symptoms (fever, coughing, trouble breathing) are encouraged to call their medical providers, who will either tell them to stay home and isolate themselves or to seek treatment at a hospital.
COVID-19 is often no more serious than the flu but can be particularly dangerous for older patients.
State officials have continued to advocate people regularly wash their hands and maintain distance from people in public places. The state’s information hotline, 211, is set up to provide information about COVID-19.
UConn preps to go online, CIAC cancels state tournaments
Restrictions, cancellations and closures related to the spread of the coronavirus continued Tuesday across Connecticut.
UConn has told all students to prepare for the chance that classes will move online following spring break next week, as the school and other state institutions continue to ramp up their response to the coronavirus. “The COVID-19 pandemic will come to the state of Connecticut and it will likely directly impact UConn,” the university said in an email to all students. “In that case, we are prepared for the possibility of moving classes to an online-only format and having students return home when possible.” The university told students to bring home necessary academic materials in case the school does not return to in-person classes.
Quinnipiac and Yale universities announced they plan to shift to online classes at the end of their respective spring breaks. Quinnipiac joins Sacred Heart University and the University of New Haven in shifting to online classes on March 18 and Yale will make the shift when their class schedules resume on March 23. Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Amherst and other schools in the region have also canceled in-person classes. Most colleges have urged students not to travel during spring break.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference announced it will cancel all upcoming sports tournaments and end those that were ongoing. “[Coronavirus] has just begun here and we don’t know how far this will spread,” CIAC executive director Glenn Lungarini said. Lungarini said he believes Connecticut is the first state to cancel state tournaments.
In addition to the Region 14 closures, Wilcoxson Elementary School in Stratford has closed through Friday, after someone connected with the school had contact with the virus.
Organizers announced that the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hartford, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed, a day after New Haven canceled its own event.
Lamont has frozen all interstate travel for state employees and suggested that private businesses take similar measures. Local businesses say they have restricted travel and asked that large meetings be held remotely.
Many public school districts have postponed plays and other performances or ordered that they be held without audiences. Some have had delayed openings or early dismissals to give teachers time to prepare for remote classes.
Nursing homes have begun to limit visitors.
With the Connecticut presidential primary scheduled for April 28, former Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to come to Hartford for a private fundraiser on March 19, officials said. Besides the fundraiser, Democrats had been hoping to hold a public event or rally with Biden, but Gov. Lamont said the size will be likely be limited to 100 people or less.
Hartford HealthCare takes more steps
Calling these “unprecedented times,” Hartford Healthcare officials Tuesday increased restrictions on visitors to the network’s hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living centers; introduced its 24-hour COVID-19 call center in Newington staffed with infectious disease doctors, internists and nurses; prepared to ban meetings of more than 20 employees; prohibited employee travel out of state; and repeated a desire to be able to test more symptomatic people.
Dr. Ajay Kumar, Hartford HealthCare’s chief clinical officer, said that with no vaccine yet available, patients should call in for medical advice, then stay home and manage the flu-like symptoms that signal the onset of the coronavirus.
Kumar emphasized that the hospitals are ready to treat people, particularity the elderly with diabetes, lung or heart conditions, or immune deficiencies, who are are dehydrated and have a higher fever, a more severe cough, or shortness of breath.
Kumar said Hartford Hospital continues to experiment with “drive-through” COVID-19 testing but is waiting for more input from the state Department of Public Health on how those scenarios would work.
He said if a patient calls the telemedicine center at (860) 972-8100 a clinician can call ahead to one of Hartford Healthcare’s primary-care offices and tell the staff the patient is coming so staff members can prepare.
Dr. Robert McLean, a primary-care internist in New Haven and president of the American College of Physicians, said patients can call their primary-care doctors for advice but that offices generally do not want patients with respiratory infections to come in.
State asks insurers to waive fees
The state is encouraging insurance companies to waive fees for COVID-19 testing.
In a statement Tuesday, Lamont’s office said the advice goes out to insurers who are regulated by the Connecticut Insurance Department — although the office noted that many employer-provided plans are regulated federally, not locally.
The president of Aetna’s Business Unit and the president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced previously that COVID-19 testing would not come with any out-of-pocket costs for its customers.
Cigna’s Connecticut president also announced full insurance coverage for the COVID-19 test and UnitedHealth Group, ConnectiCare and Harvard Pilgrim Health have all also said they’ll waive cost-sharing for the test.
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care’s president Michael Carson said the company wants clients “to know that we support them at this critical time.”
In the Tuesday statement, Lamont and insurance commissioner Andrew Mais said the state is working to ensure people have access to their regular prescriptions and to set up “telehealth services” for medical advice on COVID-19.
The Department of Corrections also suspended the $3 copay prisoners would typically pay for medical services to ensure anyone feeling ill can receive care, the department announced Tuesday night.
“It’s the right thing to do,” the department said in a statement.
Staff writers Emily Brindley, Christopher Keating and Josh Kovner contributed reporting.
Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.
