On Wednesday the First Selectman Fred Camillo and Greenwich Hospital’s President Diane Kelly resumed their weekly Covid press conference for local media after a hiatus that all had hoped would be permanent.
Ms Kelly said there were 6 Covid positive patients at Greenwich Hospital, though none were in the ICU or on ventilators.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing the number of hospitalizations starting to increase throughout our health system,” she said, adding that there were 56 hospitalized patients across the health system and five of them were on ventilators.
Kelly said that of the 56 patients hospitalized across the Yale New Haven Health System, 48 had not been vaccinated.
“There are still ways people can get the vaccine,” she said. “Can’t stress that enough…The vaccine absolutely is working.”
She said testing was as important as ever. “It’s easy to sign up for same day appointments online. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you want to know if you’re carrying this.”
“We’re seeing a little shift in our age of the patients who are sick. …As you would imagine, we’re seeing more of our lower age groups hospitalized. At the early stages of this, we didn’t see any people in their 20’s 30’s and 40’s – and we’re seeing more.”
Camillo said he had called Jayme Stevenson, First Selectwoman of Darien, and learned that that town had readjusted their Town Hall policies to require people unvaccinated to wear a mask – “Not at their work stations, but when they’re walking around.”
“None of us want to go there again. But it’s a rough patch. We didn’t come all this way just to give it all back,” Camillo added. “We’re seriously considering adjusting policy a little bit. Nothing’s getting shut down. No hours would be shortened (at town hall).”
“We’re not looking to make people’s lives miserable, but I think we probably will go in that direction,” he added. “We’re going to be taking a look and announcing something shortly. I’m encouraging people not to cancel things. Get out there and get on with your lives, but when you’re indoors and in close proximity to people be careful.”
“If you want to get through a crowded room and you can’t maintain social distancing, it can’t hurt you to wear a mask,” Ms Kelly said.
“Hopefully if the FDA approves the vaccine shortly that will inspire more people to get vaccinated,” Camillo added.
Also, on Wednesday, Governor Lamont and Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of the CT Dept of Public Health expressed concern in a release. They shared highlights of recent COVID-19 outbreaks among vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
- A birthday party took place in June with about 50 attendees, resulting in 16 cases of COVID-19 in the subsequent week. The birthday party started outdoors and then moved indoors. Unvaccinated attendees at this party were four times as likely to test positive than those who were vaccinated, with a total of 6 cases among 33 fully or partially vaccinated attendees and 10 cases among 13 vaccinated attendees. Four cases were hospitalized as a result.
- A summer camp of about 50 campers and about 20 staff members experienced a COVID-19 outbreak in July with 13 identified cases among campers. All staff have been vaccinated and no cases have been identified among staff. The cameras are 11 to 14 years of age and their vaccination status is unknown.
- A total of 28 Connecticut residents have been identified as COVID-19 cases associated with an outbreak in Massachusetts. Twenty-six had traveled to Provincetown and two had contact with a case that traveled two Provincetown in July. A total of 26 (93%) of the cases were fully vaccinated. None of the cases were hospitalized.
The Dept of Public Health reminds Connecticut residents that social gatherings with a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons should be outdoors. Indoor gatherings should include masks. Unvaccinated children are susceptible to COVID-19 and should get vaccinated before school starts.
Vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals at high risk for complications from COVID-19 – including those with compromised immune systems, diabetes, asthma, other lung diseases, pregnancy, or obesity – should avoid large, indoor gatherings that may include a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Vaccination remains the most important defense against illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. So-called “vaccine breakthrough” cases have occurred in Connecticut, but they remain rare. Most hospitalizations and deaths in Connecticut and around the country are in unvaccinated individuals. The Department of Public Health strongly recommends that unvaccinated individuals get vaccinated as soon as possible to help stop the ongoing spread of the Delta variant.
To find a vaccination site in Connecticut, visit ct.gov/covidvaccine.
Providing information to Connecticut residents
For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus. Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.