HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A total of 327 people in Connecticut have tested positive for the virus, including 104 new cases announced on Sunday. There have been eight deaths, the governor’s office said.
More than 3,600 tests have been conducted in the state. Roughly 51 people are hospitalized with the virus, officials said.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough, and the vast majority recover. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
Gov. Ned Lamont urged residents to sign up for cellphone alerts Sunday, saying he will deliver a recorded message to more than 4 million phone numbers through the state’s CTAlert system about the coronavirus.
The message from the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Hartford will urge all residents to stay home and will be accompanied by a text message with a link to Connecticut’s coronavirus website.
Lamont on Friday signed an executive order that requires all “non-essential” businesses and nonprofit organizations, to shut down or have workers their employees to work from home, through April 22. https://portal.ct.gov/DECD/Content/Coronavirus-for-Businesses/Coronavirus-for-Businesses
The restrictions, part of Lamont’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” message to residents, will take effect at 8 p.m. on Monday.
Businesses such as grocery stores, gas stations, home health care companies and defense contractors, are not affected by the order. The list of essential entities includes 16 “critical infrastructure sectors” defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. State officials plan to release additional information before Monday’s deadline about which businesses are considered essential.
The Democrat said retailers not considered essential could face fines if they remain open. The order is similar to one imposed Friday by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ordered all workers in non-essential businesses to stay home and banned gatherings statewide.
“Don’t open your retail store unless you’re involved in some essential service like food, grocery stores or health care as in pharmacies, fuel as in gas stations.” he said. “I want to see all the rest of those nonessential services closed, closed for at least a few weeks or for the foreseeable future.”
The move comes as officials announced the state’s fourth fatality, a woman in her 80s who had been living in her home in Norwalk. She died after being treated for COVID-19 at Norwalk Hospital. Meanwhile, close to 200 people have tested positive, including the first resident of New London County. There have now been positive cases in all eight Connecticut counties.
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. The vast majority of people recover.
