Coronavirus CT Updates: Contact Tracing Program Revealed

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut saw its sixth straight day of coronavirus hospitalization declines as the state inches toward reopening. There was a net drop of 26 hospitalizations Tuesday, along with 77 more deaths and 315 new positive cases out of 1,999 tests.

The entire state hospital system is at two-thirds capacity and ICU capacity is in better shape than that, said Gov. Ned Lamont.

Connecticut’s unemployment rate is north of 20 percent, which hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression, Lamont said. The unemployment will be more short-term than that of the Depression, he said. The Department of Labor has paid out $330 million in unemployment benefits in the last month. The federal $600 unemployment benefit started going out to Connecticut filers in the past few days.

Connecticut also announced its contact tracing blueprint, which will help stamp out infection spread. The state has partnered with Microsoft to develop the contact trace program. It is expected to go live by the third week in May, said state epidemiologist Kristen Soto.

People who test positive for the coronavirus will be contacted by a contact tracer, who will ask the infected person who they have come into close contact with recently, Soto said. Those people will then be contacted and asked to stay home for a period of time.

Coronavirus can be spread when an infected person is asymptomatic and staying at home after coming into contact with an infected person is the best way to limit the spread, Soto said.

Data for the program will be handled securely, Lamont said.

“Track and trace sounds a little like Big Brother ... this is a tried and true method of limiting infectious spread and it goes back 100 years,” he said.

So far there are 300 contact tracers between the state Department of Public Health and local health departments around the state. The state is also looking to get 400 to 500 more volunteers from academic institutions, Soto said.

State head epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Cartter said social distancing is driving the coronavirus case numbers down. The goal is to undertake contact tracing investigation for every confirmed case. He said the hope is that everyone will participate in contact tracing and self-isolate for 14 days if necessary.

Social distancing has had a “dramatic effect” on the spread of the virus and it has spread much slower than what was originally thought a month ago. He said while the trends are “encouraging” the number of positive cases and hospitalizations are still “far too many.”

“We can’t think we’re through this,” Cartter added.

He also said a “second wave” of the virus is still expected in the fall but an antiviral treatment may be available by then to help. He said while no one would want to re-enter quarantine we need to be prepared for that possibility.

By end of May Connecticut hopes to undertake 50,000 tests a week and currently the state is at around 4,000 tests weekly. Cartter said Connecticut’s death rate is so high because it includes confirmed cases and probable cases, which includes folks who were never tested but exhibited symptoms.

Nursing Homes

State DPH along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Guard has conducted 216 nursing home inspections to help access the coronavirus situation and help support the homes, said state COO Josh Geballe.

A total of 158 nursing home residents have been admitted to the three coronavirus-only nursing home recovery centers. Five patients were discharged Tuesday.

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See also: Timeline, New Details On $600 Federal Unemployment Checks For CT

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Coronavirus town figures, case rate per 100,000 people