CT Could Ease Coronavirus Social Distancing In June: Analysis
CONNECTICUT — Connecticut could safely ease its coronavirus stay-in-place policies in June, new projections show.
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.
IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray linked declining numbers to the success of social distancing and warned timing the return to work will have to be carefully controlled.
"The challenge — as well as opportunity — is for states to figure out how to reopen the US economy and allow people to get back to work without sacrificing that progress," Murray said in a statement. "Relaxing social distancing too soon carries great risks of a resurgence of new infections. No one wants to see this vicious cycle repeating itself."
Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for free Patch alerts and daily newsletters from all across Connecticut.
Connecticut has already hit its peak hospital resource use, according to IHME.
Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that Fairfield County had hit its apex of coronavirus cases and they were on the way down. New Haven County is a little behind, but Hartford County’s cases have been on the rise. Lamont also said Monday that he would be hesitant to open up the state regionally instead of as a whole because it could lead to a spread of cases in areas that so far haven’t been hard-hit. He also said Monday that he is concerned that the recent spike in cases in Massachusetts could spread to eastern Connecticut.
Lamont said the state will have its reopening strategy roadmap within the next few weeks. Connecticut is part of a group of several northeastern states that are working to decide how best to open up the region. Ultimately, the final decision will be left up to each individual governor.
Lamont's executive orders mandate that schools and nonessential businesses remain closed until at least May 20.
More than 1,000 protesters held a drive-by protest Monday evening in Hartford to urge Lamont to reopen the state.
Lamont announced Monday a couple of new strategies to better gauge the spread of the coronavirus in Connecticut. The state has teamed up with developers of the How We Feel app to anonymously gather health information.
The app is available for iPhone and Android phones. The app was developed with the help of health experts from MIT, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Weizmann Institute of Science.
The app has users take surveys about any symptoms they may be experiencing, which can help policy makers gauge if coronavirus hotspots are popping up.
The country and Connecticut continue to have a testing bottleneck due to the shortage of testing materials. Lamont said Monday that capacity for processing the tests remains strong and Jackson Labs alone could process upwards of 10,000 tests per day if all needed materials were available.
The federal government has reduced regulations on testing materials and Connecticut is looking to figure out how to use different chemicals as testing reagents along with different types of swabs, Lamont said.
Additional reporting by Kathleen Culliton, Patch Staff
This article originally appeared on the Across Connecticut Patch
