The U.S. hit another daily record in virus cases—the sixth time in nine days—as more than 55,000 positive cases were reported on Thursday, July 2 across the United States. In CT, the number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19–one of the key indicators for Gov. Ned Lamont–rose, rather than continued to drop, as once again there are more than 100 hospitalized cases in CT.
While the CT Department of Public Health (CT DPH) reported no new positive COVID-19 cases in Wilton for a second day, First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice cast doubt on the veracity of those numbers in her Thursday, July 2 update (now nightly again as case counts begin to rise).
Vanderslice said that the Wilton Health Department‘s contact tracers are aware of cases that are not yet included in the state’s tally.
“As throughout the pandemic, we don’t have complete confidence in the CT DPH’s case numbers. CT DPH informed the Department that some rapid testing centers are not current with their reporting of positive cases to the State.”
She urged any residents who have received a Coronavirus test result to report it to the Health Department by calling 203.563.0175 or emailing Health Director Barry Bogle, and noted that all information is confidential.
She stressed the importance of contacting the Health Department for anyone who has received a positive test result.
“If you have a positive test result and even if you have already spoken with the individuals with whom you had contact or even if you don’t intend to participate in the Department’s contact tracing efforts, it is still important to contact [the Health Department]. The Health Department needs to understand what has occurred. The better informed they are, the better informed are their decisions about if and what actions should be taken,” she wrote.
By the Numbers (July 2)
The CT Data Center reported the following for Wilton as of July 1 (totals are since the start of the pandemic unless otherwise indicated):
- Total Wilton cases: 218 (no change since June 29, +4 since June 28, +11 since June 16, +16 since May 31)
- Confirmed: 190
- Probable: 28
- Total Wilton tests:
- Residents tested: 1,589 (+80 since June 30, +712 since May 31)
- Tests performed: 2,037 (+102 since June 30, +944 since May 31)
- Positive test results: 260 (+0 since June 30, +10 since June 25, +34 since May 31)
- Negative test results: 1,777 (+102 since June 30, +328 since June 25, +910 since May 31)
- Total Wilton deaths: 41 (no change since June 13, +3 since May 31)
- Laboratory-confirmed: 20
- Probable deaths: 21
The State does not provide detailed data on antibody testing.
CT DPH reported the following for Fairfield County as of July 1:
- Total Fairfield County Cases: 16,733 (+16 since June 30)
- Confirmed: 16,094
- Probable: 639
- Total Fairfield County Deaths: 1,376 deaths (no change since June 29)
- Confirmed: 1,070
- Probable: 306
- Total Current Fairfield County Hospitalized patients: 31 (+no change since June 30)
CT DPH reported the following for statewide as of July 1:
- Total CT cases: 46,646 (+74 since June 30)
- Total CT deaths: 4,326 (+2 since June 30)
- Total Current State hospitalized patients: 101 (+1 since June 30)
- Total tests performed in CT: 487,323 (+11,461 since June 30)
It is important to note that these newly reported updates include data that occurred over the last several days to a week. All data in this report are preliminary, and data for previous dates will be updated as new reports are received and data errors are corrected. Hospitalization data were collected by the Connecticut Hospital Association. Deaths* reported to either OCME or DPH are included in the daily COVID-19 update.
Visit the state’s coronavirus webpage for several additional charts and tables containing more data groups, including a town-by-town breakdown of positive cases in each municipality and a breakdown of cases and deaths among age groups.
Wilton Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility Numbers
Connecticut nursing homes are required to report on the impact of COVID-19 on their residents and staff to reflect recent COVID-19 activity in nursing homes that occurred in the past week among both residents and staff. For the Week of June 24-30, Wilton Meadows reported no current positive cases of COVID-19 among patients or staff.
For Wilton’s three assisted living facilities, as of July 1 the following data was provided by CT DPH (note, data is cumulative):
- Brookdale Wilton: 2 cases, 0 deaths
- Sunrise of Wilton: 1 case, 1 death
- Greens at Cannondale: 17 cases, 10 deaths (8 lab-confirmed, 2 probable)
Travel Advisory Update
The Lamont administration Thursday updated the travel advisory that was recently implemented for travelers entering Connecticut from states with high rates of COVID-19. Calling a 14-day quarantine the “best option” for anyone arriving in Connecticut from an impacted state, state officials have now okayed travelers to enter the state if they test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours prior to arriving.
Vanderslice called it “a weakening of the CT travel advisory quarantine” in her update.
Absentee Ballots
In advance of the Aug. 11 primary, the Secretary of the State of CT is mailing absentee ballot applications to every active Democrat and Republican in Connecticut. Applications are expected to arrive this week or next and come with a self-addressed return envelope. Actual ballots are not available until July 21.
Bars will Not Open in July
After seeing rising COVID-19 infection rates across the country, Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters on Thursday that he decided he will not allow a full-scale reopening of bars in Connecticut.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I think the bars are going to have to take a pause right now,” Lamont said at his daily press briefing. “I’m just looking around at the rest of the country.”
He said he’s taking a cue from Texas, Florida, and California which closed bars after reopening and then seeing rapidly rising numbers of positive COVID-19 cases. “I’m learning from that,” he said.