Bump Elbows To Avoid Coronavirus, U.S. And CT Officials Say

ROCKY HILL, CT — U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams met with Gov. Ned Lamont, Department of Public Health Commissioner Renee D. Coleman-Mitchell, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal at the state Department of Public Health lab in Rocky Hill where new coronavirus testing is under way.

As of Monday morning, Lamont said there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 virus in the state.

He wrote that this weekend, the first tests were completed at the state lab. Tests for two Connecticut residents were conducted, and both of them tested negative. Lamont said the state is hoping for the best but planning for the worst.

Coleman-Mitchell said "at this time" the state does not have positive cases but cautioned that the situation is extremely "fluid and dynamic and could change at any time."She said that while the "risk is low" in Connecticut, "with that said, it is important for you to wash your hands and no longer shake hands."

It's all about the elbow bump. Coleman-Mitchell said do the elbow bump instead of shaking hands to stop the potential spread of the virus.

Last week, with a “sense of measured urgency,” a state emergency preparedness official sounded the alarm that the state is not fully prepared. But Lamont said in a coronavirus preparedness news briefing late Wednesday afternoon with state public health and emergency management officials from the Emergency Operations Center in Hartford that "Connecticut is ready."

That comes a day after an official declaration and warning by the director of the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease that the spread of coronavirus across the U.S. is inevitable.

Chief Michael A. Spera, president of the Connecticut Emergency Management Association, said in a letter to Lamont that his concern is a shortage of personal protective equipment and in particular there's a “very limited supply of N 95 particulate filter masks are being shipped to any distributor a vendor in the US.” The N 95 mask filters at least 95 percent of airborne particles, the CDC says. It's the mask to be used with a virus like novel corona, now called COVID-19.

Spera said: “Simply put there is a significant concern” that when doctors and hospitals run out “there will be none available to replace the supply this obviously puts first responders in healthcare professionals at personal risk …” And Lamont admitted there are shortages saying "there's a scramble" to locate equipment and said hospital officials are "sourcing equipment right now."

The shortage of PPE equipment led, in part, to a request for people to stop buying masks. The nation's top doc says this is how best to prevent the spread: Hand-washing. That's it? Yes, the U.S. Surgeon General says don't buy face masks. Hand sanitizer or gloves? Nope. Don't bother.

Learn how to properly wash, indeed scrub, your hands.

The National Institutes of Health and other health agencies agree this is the best method:

First, remove any jewelry and rinse your hands under running warm water. Lather with soap and using "friction," or rather scrubbing, cover all surfaces of hands and fingers including under fingernails and wash thoroughly under running water for at least 20 to 30 seconds. Turn off the faucet with your wrist/elbow. Dry your hands with a single-use towel or by using forced air drying. Pat skin rather than rubbing to avoid cracking. If disposable towels are used, throw in trash immediately.

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