Danbury Coronavirus Update: 47 Dead, 981 Active Cases

DANBURY, CT — Mayor Mark Boughton reported that the death toll from the new coronavirus is now 47, up nine from Tuesday's tally. The mayor said that there were not nine new deaths in the last 24 hours, but that the tabulation by the State had been lagging.

There are 981 residents who have tested positive for the new coronavirus.

"I can't emphasize enough that things are not going to go back to normal right away," Boughton said, noting that he had been roasted on social media for canceling the Candlewood Lake Fireworks nearly 3 months in advance. "We simply cannot put that amount of people in one area without a vaccine or without a treatment protocol that we know will get people healthy."

The mayor said,"I don't see the City of Danbury's summer camp happening," but private summer camps might still be viable.

Boughton reminded renters that they cannot be evicted currently, and that they should call 211 if they believed their landlords were not in compliance with the current State order.

Asked during his nightly news conference if there was a timeframe for returning to work, Boughton teased that "There may be a more widely distributed antibody test." The State is going to favor areas like Greater Danbury that "have been particularly hard hit" by the virus with priority access to the new antibody testing, according to Boughton.

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Those discovered to have antibodies for the disease and so possess an immunity will be "good to go" back to work, according to Boughton.

"I want life to get back to normal more than anybody," the mayor said. "But I am not willing to sacrifice your life for that."

Connecticut announced another 197 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday along with 766 new positive cases. State COO Josh Geballe said the high single-day number was due to a catch-up period of processing data on at-home and other deaths over the past two weeks. Part of that was due to a backlog from the Office of the State Medical Examiner office.

Gov. Ned Lamont also said that he will issue an executive order mandating the use of masks in some circumstances.