Coronavirus Alert Issued In CT After Cluster Of Cases Emerges

CONNECTICUT, CT – The Connecticut Department of Public Health issued a COVID-19 alert statewide for Labor Day Weekend after seeing clusters of cases recently among college students.

The DPH also has "concern over the many gatherings and cookouts that are scheduled all over Connecticut for the holiday weekend," according to a news release from the agency issued Friday.

DPH Acting Commissioner Deidre Gifford is "urging all Connecticut residents, especially young adults, to take all necessary precautions to avoid risking exposure to COVID-19 and spreading infection."

"We have a beautiful weekend coming up. But as we celebrate the holiday, DPH is reminding CT residents that small gatherings of family and friends are a major source of infection," Gifford said. "In the past several weeks in Connecticut, we are seeing small gatherings of friends and family leading to COVID-19 infection. If you are getting together with anyone who doesn't live with you, please: wear your mask, maintain social distance, wash your hands frequently, and use hand sanitizer. In addition, our partners in local health departments will be monitoring restaurants and other public spaces to be sure our Re-Opening rules are adhered to."

So far, 10 COVID-19 cases have occurred among Sacred Heart University students living off campus, and more test results are pending. Sacred Heart has approximately 3,000 students living on campus and 2,500 who live off campus in the surrounding communities of Bridgeport, Fairfield and Trumbull. The university has taken the precaution of shutting down campus access today for all students living off campus in Bridgeport and has notified the campus community, parents and area residents of the situation. Students who test positive are being isolated.

At the University of Connecticut Storrs campus, UConn has been issuing daily updates for the public and campus community about COVID-19 cases on and off campus. Latest published numbers show a total of 89 cumulative positive cases among residential students since they started to arrive for the fall semester.

Currently, 67 positive/symptomatic COVID-19 cases are in isolation beds on campus, and 27 cases among commuter students are isolating off campus.

And while officials expressed concern about some cluster of cases arising, overall Connecticut's positive rate remains among the nation's lowest. For the past two months Connecticut's infection rate has been below 1 percent most days.

Since the pandemic began there have been 53,365 confirmed cases in the state and 4,468 deaths. At one point Connecticut had nearly 2,000 COVID-19 related hospitalizations and that is down to 58 currently.

Previously, a health alert was issued for Danbury in late August after the infection rate spiked to 7 percent there. It has recently dropped to about 3.5 percent, officials said this week.

Mayor Mark Boughton said Friday that there were nine new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths reported in Danbury. He said hospitalizations are also up slightly, but "we have to wait to see if it's a trend."

See also: Coronavirus CT: Cases, Deaths For All Elder Care, Nursing Homes

• Town-By-Town Coronavirus Cases, Deaths Across Connecticut

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