Lamont: coronavirus cases in Connecticut now total 11,510; 1593 in hospital, 494 dead; establishing recovery centers for nursing home residents

HARTFORD, CT) – As the State of Connecticut continues taking actions in response to the global spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Governor Ned Lamont provided the following updates as of 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, 2020:

Data updates on testing in Connecticut

Since yesterday’s update, an additional 972 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in Connecticut, bringing the statewide total to 11,510. To date, more than 39,831 patients have been tested in Connecticut. Approximately 1,593 patients have been hospitalized. The total statewide total number of COVID-19 associated fatalities is 494. It should be noted that the day-to-day changes reflect newly reported cases, deaths, and tests that occurred over the last several days to week.

A county-by-county breakdown includes:

For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality and data broken down by age, gender, race, and other factors, visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

Governor Lamont signs executive order establishing COVID-19 recovery centers for nursing home residents

Governor Lamont today signed an executive order implementing the medical surge plan for long-term care facilities he announced on Wednesday, which will establish COVID-19 recovery centers in certain nursing homes throughout the state that will accept patients who can be discharged from acute care hospitals but are still impacted by COVID-19 infection.

The order establishes the first two COVID-19 recovery centers at Sharon Health Care Center in Sharon and Northbridge Healthcare Center in Bridgeport, and gives authority to Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell to create additional centers at other locations throughout the state as needed. Commissioner Coleman-Mitchell said that she intends to authorize the formation of an additional recovery center at Torrington Health and Rehabilitation Center in Torrington, and is in the process of finalizing details for more recovery centers in other locations to be announced in the coming days.

“People who live in nursing homes are among the most vulnerable, and this plan is needed in order to protect those who are negative for the virus while providing adequate areas of recovery for those who have tested positive and can be discharged from hospitals,” Governor Lamont. “We are grateful for the nursing homes that are partnering with us in this critical effort – their staff is providing an invaluable service to the people of our state and we cannot thank them enough.”

“Residents of long-term care facilities represent our most vulnerable population during this pandemic, as the virus can spread quickly within the enclosed environment such as a nursing home,” Public Health Commissioner Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell said. “We are committed to doing everything we can to make sure our nursing home residents get the care they need and that nursing home staff are protected with enough equipment. These new COVID-19 recovery centers will provide hundreds of new beds for COVID-19 care all over the state, and this will help to make hospital beds available to absorb the surge of hospitalizations we anticipate in the next couple of weeks.”

The Connecticut Department of Social Services and the Office of Policy and Management have determined a specific payment rate of $600 per day for the COVID-19 recovery centers, and additional payments of 10 percent across the board for all nursing homes in Connecticut during the course of the pandemic.

“This plan will assist our long-term care facilities and dedicated staff in their continuing efforts to protect residents and themselves from the spread of COVID-19,” Social Services Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford said. “By establishing facilities with a special focus on the care of individuals with COVID-19 and providing necessary funding, we will support the state’s overall medical surge response. This recognizes the additional costs being experienced by the industry at large. DSS is proud to support the Governor Lamont, our fellow state agencies, and key partners in this crucial initiative.”

Athena Health Care systems is one of the first private Connecticut nursing home providers to partner with the state on the effort to open up COVID-19 recovery centers.

Larry Santilli, president and CEO of Athena Health Care Systems, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has presented incredible and unprecedented challenges to the state. I am glad that Athena Health Care Systems is in a position to answer the state’s call for assistance at this critical time. Our history, experience, the expertise of our incredible team, and more than 35 years as Connecticut’s leader in senior care, make us well-suited to help the state and to help those afflicted with COVID-19. The true heroes in this battle are the amazing teams at Sharon and Northbridge Health Care Centers, as well as the new teams assembling in Torrington and Meriden. I believe that their work will help in the state’s goal to mitigate this pandemic as much as possible and as quickly as possible. These centers can provide nearly 500 beds of post-acute care, providing much needed support to our state’s acute care hospitals during the impending surge. Since the beginning of this pandemic, our leadership team in Farmington has been available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide counsel and management to every Athena center – and will now provide that expertise to new teams in Torrington and Meriden.”

Connecticut Long-Term Care Ombudsman Mairead Painter said, “Throughout this pandemic the governor, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, has had to make difficult decisions. I am thankful that they have kept the rights of residents, including the right to appropriate medical care, at the forefront of this decision making.”

Executive Order No. 7Y is the 26^th executive order Governor Lamont has signed since enacting the emergency declarations last month.

Updated list of nursing homes with laboratory confirmed positive cases of COVID-19

The following is a list of every nursing home in Connecticut that has reported a positive case of COVID-19 as of today:

State’s third COVID-19 recovery center being deployed at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford

In an effort to boost capacity for COVID-19 patients, the State of Connecticut today began converting the Connecticut Convention Center into a recovery center with the assistance of the Connecticut National Guard. This facility will be licensed for operation and staffed by Hartford Healthcare. The recovery center will house up to 600 patients as they receive recovery care following COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment.

The Connecticut Convention Center is the third recovery center to be stood up by the state during this pandemic, with the other two locations being at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Governor Lamont encourages residents to sign up for the state’s CTAlert notification system

Governor Lamont is encouraging Connecticut residents to sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system, which provides text message notifications to users. To subscribe, text the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.

Providing information to Connecticut residents

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including an FAQ and other guidance and resources, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can also call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance and TDD/TTY access. It intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone experiencing symptoms is strongly urged to contact their medical provider.