Nearly four hours before drive-thru coronavirus testing was scheduled to open at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford on Thursday, 40 cars were already lined up at 5:25 a.m.
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This morning, there were nearly 20 cars in line at 5:05 a.m. Testing doesn’t begin until 9 a.m.
At 5:25 am, 40 cars were lined up for drive-thru #COVID19 testing at Saint Francis Hospital. Testing doesn't open until 9 am. pic.twitter.com/ATLa6ciES3
— Tucker Ives (@tives) April 9, 2020
Connecticut Public is located across the street from the hospital, so I’ve been able to see the lines forming when I arrive early in the morning. It’s been sobering to see how many people are this sick and waiting for hours in their cars -- just to get a test.
Hartford County, where Saint Francis is located, has seen at least 1,471 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday.
As I left the station at the end of my shift, there was a much more uplifting scene outside St Francis. Police and National Guard troops were staging a noisy, drive-by tribute to the medical staff. They've been doing this at several hospitals in recent days.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Connecticut...
Topline
- Gov. Ned Lamont says public schools, restaurants, bars and many other businesses will remain closed until at least May 20.
- Social distancing measures have bumped back the anticipated peak of the pandemic in Connecticut to late April or early May.
- Several Connecticut companies that insure motor vehicles have agreed to reduce auto insurance premiums by as much as 15% during the pandemic because of how few people are on the roads right now.
By The Numbers
All numbers are as of April 9 at 7 p.m.
- 380 deaths from COVID-19
- 9,784 confirmed cases
- Fairfield County: 4,882
- New Haven County: 2,183
- Hartford County: 1,471
- Litchfield County: 315
- Middlesex County: 205
- Tolland County: 145
- New London County: 139
- Windham County: 52
- Pending address validation: 392
- More than 33,502 people tested
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The Latest
- Gov. Ned Lamont is signing an executive order today that includes a ban on evictions for renters before July 1, a 60-day grace period for April rent, and allows for rental security deposits to be applied to April, May or June rent.
- Public schools in Connecticut will remain closed until at least May 20. If the pandemic does subside and it’s safe to reopen schools at that time, there would only be a few weeks left in the school year. Gov. Ned Lamont has been incrementally pushing back the reopening of schools since they closed last month. May 20 is also the earliest that Lamont believes other businesses, restaurants and bars may be able to open, but that could also be pushed back.
- The peak of the coronavirus in Connecticut is expected to be later than previously anticipated. “In early March, we were predicting that early April was the time we would see peak, but we put together a lot of social distancing measures, so peak has been delayed and pretty much all of the models are predicting a later peak at this time,” said Dr. Ajay Kumar, chief clinical officer for Hartford HealthCare.
- Bristol-based ESPN has stopped a mixed martial arts fight from happening on federal land in California. UFC 249 was scheduled to happen on April 18, and all other events will be postponed. UFC president Dana White was adamant about holding fights either on tribal land where state bans on public gatherings don’t apply, or on a private island where international fighters can go. ESPN has exclusive broadcast rights to UFC events and White said he got called from “the highest level you can go” at ESPN and its parent company, Disney. “The powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event [next] Saturday," he said.
Other Reads On The Coronavirus
- Life After COVID-19: Letter From Beijing - Dan Wang for New York
- Chinese government reveals draft list of animals which can be farmed for meat - Ben Westcott for CNN
- In 1918, as a pandemic ripped through Hartford, Babe Ruth drew big crowds at the worst possible time - Dom Amore for The Hartford Courant
Coronavirus On TV
People with more time on their hands are binging on television shows. It offers an escape from the coronavirus news, because these shows have stopped production. But what if the pandemic struck these fictional worlds?
Earlier this month, Vulture spoke with TV writers about how their characters would handle the crisis.
My favorite is the character of Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock, who quickly catches the virus and survives: “My snakes eat bats and then I use my snakes to practice French kissing, so it was inevitable, Liz Lemon!”
One show that is not featured in this list is The Office. But two executive producers of that show are already developing the idea of The Office during the pandemic.
What shows need to come back to address the coronavirus? Let me know on Twitter or send me an email.
Stay safe. Stay sane. Stay distant.
