Number Of Coronavirus Patients Decreases At Greenwich Hospital

GREENWICH, CT — The total number of positive cases of the coronavirus in Greenwich rose to 2,905 as of Tuesday, an increase of 240 cases from last week, according to First Selectman Fred Camillo.

During a press update Wednesday afternoon, Camillo said there are currently 180 active cases of the virus in town as of this week. That number represents a decrease of 55 from last week, which Camillo said is a step in the right direction.

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Two more residents have also died as a result of the virus over the past week, brining the total number up to 75, Camillo said.

Greenwich Hospital currently has 27 patients who have tested positive for the virus in house as of Wednesday, which is down from 34 patients last week, according to the hospital's vice president of public relations, Dana Marnane. Of those patients, four are in the intensive care unit and two are on ventilators, Marnane said.

The hospital has discharged a total of 1,010 patients since the start of the pandemic, Marnane said.

"We are definitely seeing a flattening of that curve and starting to see a little downward trend," Marnane said. "So it's starting to feel a little hopeful."

Marnane noted the hospital had to temporarily shut down most of its elective procedures back in April to accommodate the large number of coronavirus patients at the facility, something they have not needed to do since the numbers began to increase again.

"At the height of COVID-19 in the spring, we shut down most of our elective procedures to allow for that large influx [of patients]," Marnane said. "We saw COVID-19 patients hit over 110 at the height back in April. We haven't had to do that in this second round because our numbers are staying low."

For comparison, Marnane said the hospital is also currently treating 129 non-coronavirus patients.

"Our outpatient offices remain open, outpatient procedures continue," Marnane said. "The emergency room is open and busy and ready to treat anyone, so we want to continue [encouraging] people not to delay care if they’re having any concerns, especially if they are heart or stroke related. Don’t delay, come in."

As of this week, the hospital has administered over 1,900 coronavirus vaccinations to its staff and community medical staff in accordance with state guidelines, Marnane said.

Connecticut's phase 1b of the coronavirus vaccine rollout will begin Monday for residents over the age of 75, state officials announced this week. Marnane said the hospital is preparing for this next phase and planned to meet with Camillo and other local health officials Wednesday evening to discuss it.

“We are working on our plan," Marnane said, "and plan to start that process next week, and hopefully by the end of this week start to register people and encourage everyone to be vaccinated."

Marnane and Camillo both noted further details about registering for the vaccine and other information will be released as soon as possible.

"We’re meeting in a little while to address this," Camillo said, "to get a plan in place and get it out there ASAP."

In his community connections email update Friday, Camillo noted residents using Greenwich Point or any of the town's other parks and trails should wear a mask when social distancing of at least 6 feet is not possible.

On Wednesday, Camillo said he has not received many complaints regarding people in town not wearing masks or following safety measures.

"Once in a blue moon, I'll get an email or a call from somebody who's out [in town] saying people aren't adhering to the guidelines, but not as much as [earlier last year]," Camillo said. "The people of Greenwich, for the most part, have been following the rules, which is really great."

This article originally appeared on the Greenwich Patch