Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Doctor who made rounds at Bridgeport Hospital has tested positive for COVID-19

  • Health
  • by Jenna Carlesso
  • March 7, 2020
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Bridgeport Hospital President Anne Diamond addressed the media Saturday afternoon. Diamond said the doctor who tested positive for coronavirus did not expose patients to the illness because he was exhibiting no symptoms when he made rounds at the hospital.

A doctor who works in Connecticut and recently made rounds at Bridgeport Hospital has tested positive for the coronavirus, the governor announced Saturday.

This is the second New York state resident who works in a Connecticut hospital to test positive for the virus, also known as COVID-19. State officials announced Friday night that an employee who works at both Danbury and Norwalk hospitals has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The doctor in Bridgeport did not shows symptoms of coronavirus while working with patients, the governor’s office said, and “stayed home to self monitor.” Officials said he was not an employee of the hospital, but rather a community doctor who made rounds there.

“This physician saw a limited number of patients at Bridgeport Hospital. At that time, the physician displayed no symptoms associated with COVID-19,” said Anne Diamond, president of the hospital. “As a result, the physician contact here during that time does not constitute an exposure.”

Hospital staff were notified and the “very small number of patients” who came into contact with the doctor were isolated, she said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since told them that isolation is not necessary.

“The CDC has advised us that our staff will not require isolation or furlough given the nature of the encounter, but we are asking that all staff self monitor for symptoms in the future,” Diamond said.

State officials did not release any details about the doctor, such as where he works or what type of medicine he practices. He made rounds at Bridgeport Hospital over the last weekend.

“This most recent case of another New York resident who works in Connecticut testing positive for COVID-19 shows us what we already know – coronavirus is here and viruses don’t stop at state borders,” Lamont said. The risk to staff and patients is low, he said.

Friday night, Lamont and other state officials announced that an employee who works at both Danbury and Norwalk hospitals and is a resident of Westchester County, N.Y. had tested positive for coronavirus.

The woman is quarantined at her home in New York. Health officials said she was in contact with “a limited number” of people and worked in “an isolated geographic area” in the two hospitals.

They did not provide details about her job or the number of patients she cared for, but a source with knowledge of the situation said the woman is a nurse who had been in contact with as many as 20 patients, as well as numerous colleagues across the two hospitals. The colleagues she came into contact with have been placed on furlough, and hospital patients who begin exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus will receive priority for testing, the source said.

The woman was exposed to the virus in her home by another person who had tested positive for it. She then worked shifts at both hospitals.

“This is not unexpected,” Lamont said during a press conference at Danbury City Hall Friday night. “We’ve been prepared for this, well prepared for this. We’ve been planning for this for some time.”

“The hospital has been very aggressive – they’ve gone and they’ve figured out everybody that she’s had any contact with over the last several days and those folks have been put on furlough,” he said. “We’re monitoring them very carefully. Anybody, over the course of the 14 days, who shows any symptoms at all will be immediately tested.”

“We knew this day would happen. It’s here, so we’ll manage it.”

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton

Renee Coleman-Mitchell, the state’s health commissioner, said Friday that Connecticut’s public health lab has tested 42 specimens for COVID-19, and all have been negative. Another 11 are in the process of being tested. The state has received one kit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that allows health workers to test about 600 people. Lamont has requested additional kits.

Danbury and Norwalk hospitals are under “strict” surveillance, the governor said.

“It was somewhat inevitable that there was going to be a positive COVID-19 case in our state, and the first one happened to be an employee who works at our hospitals,” said Kerry Eaton, chief operating officer of Nuvance Health, whose network includes Norwalk and Danbury hospitals. “I have teams … who are currently working to make sure that we identify any and all persons who need to be notified of their potential exposure.”

“We believe it is contained because it was a very limited geographic area,” she added. The woman has been in quarantine since Wednesday.

The governor was joined Friday night by a slew of officials, including Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Nuvance Health personnel, and local politicians, who seemed intent on delivering the same message: Connecticut residents should remain calm, stay informed, and follow federal guidelines for hand-washing and other safety protocol.

Hospital officials urged residents to remain calm so emergency rooms do not become overrun with the “walking well” – people who are not sick but are worried and want to be tested. For now, they said, testing is reserved for patients who are acutely ill and require hospitalization.

“If there’s a message for the community it’s: Look, we got this,” Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said Friday. “It’s going to be unnerving. It’s disruptive. It’s scary. But at the end of the day, we’re going to be OK if we work together, follow the protocols that are in place, and communicate across all lines, including state borders.

“We knew this day would happen. It’s here, so we’ll manage it.”

State officials have launched a coronavirus information hotline. People with questions can call 211 or text “CTCOVID” to 898211.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Carlesso is CT Mirror’s Health Reporter, focusing on health access, affordability, quality, equity and disparities, social determinants of health, health system planning, infrastructure, processes, information systems, and other health policy. Before joining CT Mirror Jenna was a reporter at The Hartford Courant for 10 years, where she consistently won statewide and regional awards. Jenna has a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University and a Bachelor or Arts degree in Journalism from Grand Valley State University.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Medical providers are taking nature therapy seriously
by Jenifer Frank | C-HIT.ORG

In a time of social isolation and staying home, sometimes a walk in the park is the best medicine.

Have a case of a COVID variant? No one is going to tell you
by Christina Jewett and JoNel Aleccia | Kaiser Health News and Rachana Pradhan

Federal rules around who can be told about the variant cases are confusing, and tests have not been approved.

CT teachers are expected to get vaccinated for COVID at local clinics, but other options could cause problems
by Dave Altimari

School employees could end up on two lists, which means some vaccine might go to waste, officials said.

Grocery store workers ‘disgusted’ with Lamont’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Grocery store workers are frustrated with Gov. Ned Lamont, who is no longer prioritizing them in the coronavirus vaccination schedule.

Breaking with national recommendations, Lamont says Connecticut’s vaccine rollout will now be prioritized by age
by Jenna Carlesso and Keith M. Phaneuf

People aged 55 to 64 will be next in line for the vaccine.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The marijuana legalization debate must be based on facts
by Will Jones III

In response to my earlier piece on why Connecticut lawmakers should reject marijuana commercialization,  Brendan Ruberry wrote a rebuttal that, on its face seems scathing, but to be clear, the attempted rebuttal falls flat and well off the mark.

Opinion Equity for women and girls essential to rebuild Connecticut’s economy
by Jennifer Steadman and Michelle Riordan-Nold

As Connecticut’s economy seeks to recover and rebuild, our success as a state will depend on how we respond to the disproportionate adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic on women and girls, particularly women and girls of color.

Opinion Connecticut immigrants deserve health insurance
by Brooke Lifland, MD; Tanner Bommersbach, MD; Marco Ramos, MD PhD; and Eden Almasude, MD

Connecticut should pass House Bill 6334 to expand health insurance to all immigrants regardless of status. Our state wisely chose to protect the immigrant community by using Emergency Medicaid funds to cover expenses associated with COVID-19 testing and treatment for residents who were excluded from Medicaid based on their immigration status.

Opinion Truth or consequences: The impact of lie-based politics
by Charles M. Ericson and Sedona Ericson

A radio show by the above name, emceed by a man named Ralph Edwards, became a big hit starting in 1940. It eventually became a TV show, and all told, it lasted for decades. The format of the show was to be asked a question, and if it was not answered truthfully, the contestant submitted to undertaking a silly stunt of almost any kind. The show seemed reflective of a culture that valued untruth for perceived rewards, however trivial.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO