Danbury Coronavirus Update: 1,261 Residents Tested Positive

DANBURY, CT — Mayor Mark Boughton reported that the death toll from the new coronavirus is now 64, one more since Monday. There are 1,261 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Boughton made the announcement during his nightly livestreamed news conference on Tuesday.

"Mitigation is working, social distancing is working," Boughton said, but expressed his fear that the city would experience a second wave of illness and death if the efforts were not maintained.

Boughton said the city intends to hire a "COVID Czar" who would be responsible for securing grant money and other funds which have been made available at various levels of the government and from other entities. "They will pay for themselves," Boughton said.

Connecticut announced another 545 positive coronavirus cases, 92 deaths and a net gain of 30 hospitalizations. That brings the totals up to 20,360 cases, 1,423 deaths and 1,949 current hospitalizations. More than 64,000 people have been tested in Connecticut.

Connecticut will soon get an 80 percent boost in its coronavirus testing capacity thanks to a partnership between Hartford Healthcare and Quest Diagnostics. The state averages about 2,600 tests per day and another 2,000 per day will be added through the partnership.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut could relax social distancing on June 1 should the spread of COVID-19 continue to abate, analysts from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said.
"Relaxing social distancing may be possible with containment strategies that include testing, contact tracing, isolation, and limiting gathering size," the analysis reads.