The latest release of state testing data on positive COVID-19 cases was something Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert was not anticipating when she checked in with the state Monday, May 18. According to the health official, whose district also includes Bridgewater and Roxbury, the latest release of positive virus cases shows Newtown has spiked to over 200.

Culbert said while the state’s positive case count of 199 on Sunday was bad enough, she was looking at as many as 212 by Monday afternoon.

“I just didn’t want that information circulating without a broader explanation,” Culbert told The Newtown Bee shortly after the numbers were released Monday. “The community needs to know that all but a few of these latest positive cases are coming from congregate situations — nursing and assisted living facilities.”

Culbert explained that recent point prevalence surveying (PPS) has resulted in an uncharacteristically and unanticipated surge in townwide positive results. A point prevalence survey is an epidemiologic tool to assess the number of people in a group with a disease or condition, such as COVID-19, the infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, at a specific point in time.

In its Testing for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nursing Homes guide, the CDC states that if testing capacity allows, facility-wide PPS of all residents should be considered in facilities with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. Early experience from nursing homes with COVID-19 cases suggests that when residents with COVID-19 are identified, there are often asymptomatic residents with SARS-CoV-2 present as well.

By doing a PPS of all residents, the facility can identify infected residents, who can then be cohorted on a pre-specified unit or transferred to a COVID-specific facility, the CDC continues. If undertaking facility-wide PPS, the CDC cautions that facility leadership should be prepared for the potential to identify multiple asymptomatic residents with SARS-CoV-2 infection and make plans to cohort them.

It appears that is what occurred to produce the two-day increase of Newtown cases.

As of May 17 at 8:30 pm, a total of 38,116 cases of COVID-19 had been reported among Connecticut residents — a one-day increase of 697. At the same time, 920 patients are currently hospitalized with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 (-17), and there have been 3,449 COVID-19-associated deaths tallied (+41). As of Sunday, Newtown had registered 21 deaths.

Delayed Barber, Salon Reopenings

The Health District also received word Monday that Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut and Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island are aligning over the reopening of hair salons and barber shops in early June, unexpectedly delaying previously authorized openings by more than another week in Connecticut.

Hair salons and barber shops were initially included in Phase 1 of Connecticut’s reopen plan, which begins May 20; however Lamont said that after having extensive discussions with owners and employees of these businesses he feels that it is in everyone’s best interests to provide for some additional preparation time and also align the state with its regional partners.

Lamont said, “We’ve been hearing a lot of feedback from many owners and employees, and at this time I think the best approach is that we hit pause on the reopening of hair salons and barber shops, take a step back, and allow some more time as preparations continue to be made.”

Governor Raimondo said, “I know how hard this crisis has been on close-contact businesses like hair salons and barber shops, and we’re working around the clock to get you back to work quickly and safely. We look forward to continuing to coordinate with our regional partners as we work toward reopening these businesses in early June.”

During his daily briefing Monday, the governor said he wants salon and barber shop operators to talk with their employees about how they feel about returning to work, in regard to their safety.

“I was on the phone with a few hundred stylists a week ago,” Lamont said, adding they were mainly concerned for their safety, but also about challenges getting access to child care.

New Business Resources

During Lamont’s briefing, Glendowlyn Thames, the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) deputy commissioner, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said her office had just launched a new Small Business Reopening Guide, available by CLICKING HERE

Thames said the DECD also is launching a series of webinars providing an opportunity to go into details and best practices over reopening so businesses can share peer networking and peer learning.

Deidre Gifford, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Public Health and Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, also was at the briefing.

Gifford said she understands the difficulties of state residents in complying with distancing practices.

“But I don’t want to see infection rates climb again,” Gifford said. She said residents should continue to wear face coverings all the time in public indoor spaces.

Outdoors, Gifford urged state residents to carry masks and continue to wear one when going indoors, or when people are not able to keep the six-foot separation distancing. She reminded residents about having no more than five people in groups, and those with risk factors and residents over 65 to stay at home.

Gifford also encouraged state residents to keep their prevention “guard up.” As case numbers fall the chances of contracting the infection are falling, she said.

“The infection is not gone,” she said, however, adding that up to now, following guidelines has helped Connecticut bend the curve, saying “it’s because of all of you being so compliant.”

Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman was also in the briefing.

Referring to maintaining the utmost safety standards as the state begins phased reopening May 20, he said based on the corresponding executive order, businesses reserve the right to enforce a “no mask — no service” policy except in some very narrow cases involving very young patrons and those whose health is impacted by wearing face protection.

Lamont also said the state has completed 45,000 tests in last seven days, and that Connecticut has secured lab capacity to double that number by early June. He also said the state is creating purchasing agreements with suppliers to get Connecticut small businesses the same purchasing advantage as state contracts permit.

Dental Practice Guidance

Lamont on Monday also released the guidance document that was developed through a collaborative working group organized by his administration, providing best practices for dental offices that are considering expanding their operations beyond emergency care in the coming days.

During the pandemic, dentist offices have been considered an essential business by the Lamont administration and were never ordered to close. Following a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, dental offices were strongly advised to temporarily limit their practices to urgent and emergency dental care.

As several other sectors of the economy begin preparations to reopen on May 20, some dental practices in the state indicated their intention to resume elective services on that date, and dental hygienists and assistants contacted the Lamont administration asking for more guidance.

To help address those concerns, Lamont directed leadership at the Connecticut Department of Public Health to convene a working group of dental professionals representing dental hygienists, dental assistants, and dentists. The group recently met through video conferencing over a five-day period, and reached a consensus on the final guidance document.

“Having representatives from each of these groups collaboratively develop these protocols was an important step forward so that all of their concerns could be heard and addressed,” Lamont said.

“The success of this effort is owed to each member’s extensive and continuous hard work, commitment to professionalism, advocacy for their constituencies, and common goal of protecting the health and safety of the dental workforce and patients. Our group of professionals at the Department of Public Health have been incredibly thorough and thoughtful during this pandemic, and this is yet another example of their incredible hard work on behalf of the residents of our state,” the governor added.

The work group includes Anne Marie DeLessio-Matta, DMD of Pediatric Dental Associates of Southbury, who is the Connecticut State Dental Association’s President-Elect. To download or review the guidelines CLICK HERE

Anyone in crisis or facing issues making ends meet or experiencing stress or anxiety can also call the 211 infoline or consult its companion website 211ct.org.

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including an FAQ, other guidance and resources, and a way to ask questions, Newtown residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

The Newtown Bee is continuing to provide and mirror information and messages coming from local and state agencies on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Newtown residents can get more details by visiting Newtown’s own COVID-19 web page, at newtown-ct.gov.

Residents can also review all prior COVID-19 updates and follow the newspaper’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages for breaking local news and advisories.

Please check in regularly, share, and follow the newspaper’s hyper local coverage at newtownbee.com through the remainder of this public health emergency.