‘Serious Outbreak’ In Coronavirus Cases In Danbury: DPH Officials

DANBURY, CT — State health officials are urging Danbury residents to limit their activities after the city has experienced a “serious outbreak” in coronavirus cases over the past two weeks. The Connecticut Department of Public Health on Friday issued a “COVID-19 alert” for Danbury after a significant increase in cases in the last two weeks.

Officials said much of the outbreak related to recent domestic and international travel. From Aug. 2 to Aug. 20, Danbury recorded at least 178 new COVID-19 cases, which officials said was a “sharp increase” over the previous two-week period when only 40 new cases were recorded.

Danbury has had 147 total new cases since Aug. 13, according to the latest numbers from the state Department of Public Health. There have been 1,189 test results reported between Aug. 12 and Aug. 20.

“This is a serious outbreak in Danbury and we really need an all hands-on deck approach,” Acting DPH Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford said in a statement. “We need everyone in Danbury to take extreme precaution. We appreciate the partnership with municipal and health department leadership in Danbury, as well as health care providers that have testing sites available for members of the community. We are urging anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to get tested as soon as possible, stay home until your test results are known and stay at home for 10 days if you test positive.

“We need you to answer your phone if a contact tracer tries to get in touch. If you are over the age of 60 or have a chronic disease and live in Danbury, you should stay home. We need employers to help make sure everyone with symptoms or who was exposed is staying home and not coming to work. Friends and neighbors could help by supporting those who need to stay home with food and other errands. We can limit spread of the virus if we all work together.”

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Connecticut is requiring anyone traveling to the state from many other U.S. states to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. In addition, the CDC recommends anyone returning from international travel from countries with wide spread transmission of COVID-19 to self-quarantine for the same period of time.

“DPH is coordinating with municipal and local health officials in Danbury to get the word out among community centers and churches to take extra precautions, immediately,” according to a news release. “Those precautions include: staying home when possible and limiting outings, wearing masks anytime you leave home, limiting indoor gatherings to only those you live with, refraining from attending large church services for the time being, and not attending large outdoor gatherings.”

To find available testing sites in Danbury, click here.

See also: New Coronavirus Cases Inch Up In CT

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