Connecticut Hospital Doctor Contracted Coronavirus In New York

CONNECTICUT — A doctor from New Rochelle, New York, but who works in Connecticut has tested positive for coronavirus. At a Saturday afternoon briefing at Bridgeport Hospital, its president Anne Diamond said they were alerted Friday night that the doctor was positive for the virus.

She said his "contact here does not constitute an exposure, however to be very, very conservative took immediate steps to isolate patients that he came in contact with but," she said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the hospital "it's not necessary" for isolation since the doctor was asymptomatic.

Hospital officials said the doctor was working last weekend and was not feeling sick or showing symptoms so they said they do not feel there were exposures at the hospital. Diamond said that they were told by the CDC that employees and patients do not need to be isolated because the doctor did not have symptoms. She said there are no plans to furlough staff but employees are asked to self-monitor for symptoms.

At the media briefing, attended by state, local and hospital officials, Department of Public Health director Renee Coleman-Mitchell said, "We're in it people. Here we go," referring to community transmission which she called "quite high."

She also noted that "there is no COVID-19 in the state of Connecticut" as the doctor was infected in New York.

She said the state lab has tested 42 specimens for 21 patients and all have tested negative. Nine more are being tested, three from Norwalk and Danbury hospital employees and one from Bridgeport Hospital. (Don't miss updates in Connecticut concerning the Coronavirus as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.)

Gov. Ned Lamont on Saturday announced that the Connecticut Department of Public Health was informed of a second New York State resident who works in Connecticut and tested positive for the new coronavirus. Friday a female heath worker from New York State who works in Norwalk and Danbury hospitals tested positive for the virus known as COVID-19.

The new case is a community physician who made rounds at Bridgeport Hospital and did not show signs or symptoms of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, while working with patients. He self-quarantined at home.

Bridgeport Hospital, which is part of Yale New Heaven Health, said the risk to patients that the doctor saw was "very low."

In a statement posted to its website the hospital said it was notified by the New York State Department of Health that a "community physician from New York State was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 6, 2020. This physician, who was asymptomatic, saw a limited number of patients at the Bridgeport Hospital Campus last weekend."

“This most recent case of another New York resident who works in Connecticut testing positive for COVID-19 shows us what we already know – coronavirus is here and viruses don’t stop at state borders," a press release from Lamont sent out early Saturday afternoon reads.

“Bridgeport Hospital officials were in direct communication with the Connecticut Department of Public Health when they were made aware of this positive case. The physician did not show signs or symptoms when he worked with patients at Bridgeport Hospital and the risk to staff and patients remains low," he said.

New Information Hotline Launched In CT

Lamont announced that the state is partnering with United Way of Connecticut to launch an information hotline for questions from the public regarding issues related to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). People who have questions can call 2-1-1 or text “CTCOVID” to 898211.

Answers to many of the questions people may have can already be found by visiting the state’s coronavirus information website at ct.gov/coronavirus. People are encouraged to review that website for answers to their questions first before calling the hotline. This information hotline is only 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 to seek treatment.

“We understand people have specific questions but we want to stress that this call center is only intended for general information. Anyone looking for specific medical advice regarding symptoms they may be experiencing is strongly urged to seek medical treatment,” Lamont said.

The 2-1-1 hotline is available 24 hours a day. Multilingual assistance and TDD/TTY access for those with a hearing impairment is also available.

• Related: CT Hospital Worker From New York State Positive For Coronavirus

The First Hospital Case Friday

On Friday evening, Lamont and state health officials said the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Connecticut is a person who works at Danbury Hospital. The unnamed female health care worker is from Westchester County, New York. Health officials said Friday night that she contracted COVID-19 in New York.

The woman is at her home under self-quarantine. Lamont said the hospital has "gone to see who she has had contact with" and those people have been "put on furlough" for 14 days and if they display symptoms they'll be immediately tested.

Health officials from the hospital said that the woman was told she came into contact with a person with the coronavirus in New York. She was restricted from duty. And then Friday, the test for COVID-19 came back positive. Officials said she worked at both hospitals but worked in isolated areas in the hospitals. They believe her contact was limited. She was quarantined based on notification from New York State.

At Friday's briefing at Danbury City Hall, Mayor Mark D. Boughton was upbeat noting the state is prepared and "has been a head of the curve."

"If there's a message for the community, 'we got this. It's going to be unnerving, it's disruptive, it's scary, but at the end of the day, we're gonna be OK if we work together ..."

Early Friday, There Was 'No Sign Of Infection.' But Friday Night, Things Had Changed

Friday morning Lamont said during a press briefing at St. Francis Hospital, "so far, there's no sign of infection," but noted that "we're surrounded by states that do" have confirmed cases.

In New York, 76 cases have been confirmed and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has declared a state of emergency. Massachusetts has 13 cases and Rhode Island has three confirmed cases as of Saturday afternoon.

According to Johns Hopkins University, which compiles data hourly on COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and others, as of Saturday afternoon, there were 376 confirmed cases in the United States, 14 have died and of those diagnosed with the disease, eight people have recovered. There have been 105,559 confirmed cases globally in more than 100 countries with 3,555 deaths. Around 58,000 people with the coronavirus who have recovered. Note that these figures change hourly.

Lamont said earlier Friday that the state is "ramping up" testing for those who have respiratory health issues among other populations that are vulnerable. The state health lab and soon hospitals will expand testing, Lamont said. Private labs Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp announced they are rolling out testing, officials said at the briefing. He said "we should expect more cases in the coming days as this virus reaches every corner of the globe."

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement Saturday.

"We always knew it was a matter of when, not if, the COVID-19 would touch Connecticut. As we continue to monitor possible exposures related to a hospital worker — I stand ready to do everything I can at the federal level to make sure the governor and Connecticut's state and local health officials have all the resources they need to contain and stop the spread of the coronavirus in Connecticut," said Murphy.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Carter has said the pandemic will "feel a lot like a really bad flu season and it will last for three to four months in any one place, maybe two to three months, we really don't know for certain."

Thursday, Lamont sent a letter to CDC chief to ask for more coronavirus testing kits"to comply with new federal guidance for clinicians on which patients should be tested."

The state health department got testing kits for just 500 people. Lamont said he was concerned that new CDC testing guidance casts a broader net on the population of patients who should be tested and will result in a shortage of kits in the state.

Lab testing capacity will be greatly expanding in Connecticut soon with the help of private sector labs, and testing capacity at the state's hospitals is expected to be available within the next two weeks, officials said this week.

Read more here.

Meanwhile, CVS Health announced Friday morning that insurer Aetna will waive co-pays for coronavirus testing, for the next 90 days, it will offer zero co-pay telemedicine visits for any reason, members who are diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive a care package, and the insurer says it will "proactively reach out to members most at-risk for COVID-19."

See related Patch stories on coronavirus:

• Person In New Haven Exposed To Someone Who Had Coronavirus: Mayor
• CT Got Just 500 Coronavirus Test Kits; Lamont Tells CDC Send More
• EPA Releases List of Disinfectant Products To Fight Coronavirus