Greenwich COVID-19 Update: Thursday, April 9

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By Richard Kaufman

First Selectman Fred Camillo held a teleconference on Thursday afternoon in which he gave an update on COVID-19 in Greenwich.

As of Thursday, there are 251 Greenwich residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, up from 234 reported on Wednesday, April 8, according to the Greenwich Health Department.

Greenwich Hospital has reported that as of 1 p.m., Thursday, there were 117 COVID-19 positive patients being treated in several different hospital units. So far, 149 patients have been discharged from the hospital and continue their recuperation at home. To date, 2,781 people have been tested at the hospital’s outpatient tent with 1,092 testing positive. All of these numbers reflect patients who live in Greenwich as well as from other municipalities in Connecticut and Westchester County.

The Department of Public Works, in conjunction with the Greenwich Police Department, are reaching out to landscaping crews with flyers written in Spanish to help inform those workers of the necessary precautions they should be taking during the course of their work.

The town has received reports of several landscaping crews who have been working closely together, using multiple leaf blowers at the same time, and not wearing facemasks and gloves. The flyer, in spanish, can be found by clicking here.

Additional prevention information in Spanish can be found here.

Camillo noted that the town is getting a lot of calls asking about masks. “We’re telling people to try and hold them in reserve. In the meantime, if you have other cloth or towels that you can tie around your face, to do so,” Camillo said. “You can wash them and reuse them. People seem to be doing that, which is great. We are getting masks in also. We’re just trying to make sure we don’t go through everything right away.”

Many people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, meaning they can transmit the virus without knowing they have it. Easy to follow instructions to make cloth facial masks can be found here.

Camillo added that the town has had discussions with area hotels, who are offering discounted rates, about housing for first responders who may have been exposed to the coronavirus and have to isolate. 

“We have a donor, and part of the money is going to go towards a fund just in case [such housing] is needed. We’re prepared for it just in case,” Camillo said.

When asked about why Connecticut seems to have a high hospitalization rate, Camillo said it’s because of a combination of factors.

“We’re close to a hot zone in New York, one of the first ones in New Rochelle. We’re 15 minutes from there. As we’ve been saying all along, this virus has no borders, it doesn’t discriminate, people are breathing the same air, we have a border that’s open. You’re also going to see lots of people who worked in New York,” Camillo remarked. “We have a very small state of 3.5 million, and we do have some areas that people are concentrated in. When you see places like Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, hospitals there are overrun. People are living in close proximity, and it’s easier to spread that way. That’s why social distancing is so important.”

Camillo said that he is seeing a more coordinated effort by first selectmen and mayors in the state in instituting guidelines.

“You don’t want pockets of inconsistencies, because that’s where it gets harder for us to keep up with that, even if we’re doing the right thing because it’s a spread.”

Here are some resources for residents and businesses and other helpful tips

To reach the Domestic Abuse Services staff at the YWCA, please call the 24/7 hotline at 203-622-0003.

Residents, who need assistance with basic needs, including food, can call the Department of Human Services at: 203-622-3800.

Members of the public are encouraged to sign-up for the Town’s Emergency AlertNotification System at greenwichct.bbcportal.com/Entry

The Department of Health has five phone lines specifically dedicated to the public for questions and answers about COVID-19. They are: 203-622 -7865; 203-622-7703; 203-622-7614; 203-622-7842 and 203-622-7836.

If you are concerned about an activity or a group not following guidelines issued through COVID-19 related Executive Orders and emergency declarations, please call the Greenwich Police Department’s non-emergency phone number at 203-622-8004.

The next update will be given on Friday afternoon, unless there is a development that warrants immediate public notification.

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