Ridgefield Coronavirus Victim A Benchmark Senior Living Resident

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The man who succumbed to the new coronavirus was a resident at Benchmark Senior Living at Ridgefield Crossings before being admitted into Danbury Hospital on Monday, a spokesman for the elder care facility said.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Wednesday that the COVID-19 fatality, the first in Connecticut, was a Ridgefield man in his 80s.

Upon receiving the news of their former resident's death, the senior living facility immediately contacted state and local health authorities, according to a Benchmark spokesperson.

"We quickly enacted our COVID-19 outbreak plan, which includes promptly quarantining the residents who had high exposure to this individual. We are following health department and medical guidance to address the associates who had exposure to this resident by having them stay out of the community," the spokesperson said.

Benchmark says that their home office and regional teams, as well as our local community leaders, are working in tandem with the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take the precautions necessary to protect the health and safety of all of our residents and associates.

"We continue to closely monitor all residents and associates, taking resident’s temperatures daily and restricting non-essential visitors to reduce the potential spread of the virus. All residents are receiving in-room meals. Programming has been discontinued for all, except our memory care residents, until further notice," the spokesperson said.

"Every resident, family member and associate is an important part of the Ridgefield Crossings family. This is a difficult time for all of us, and everyone is working hard to support one another."

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