Connecticut working plans for COVID-19 contact tracing

Connecticut officials are working on a plan for anonymous contact tracing of COVID-19, a key component of the state’s eventual efforts to slowly reopen without risking flareups of the coronavirus that causes the disease.

Josh Geballe, chief executive officer for Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, said Wednesday there will be “a lot of exciting announcements in the near future” about new cloud-based platforms the Department of Public Health has been evaluating.

“It will help us really work more closely with 64 local health departments coordinating with the state, also helping to share resources and volunteers where there may be more need in one area,” he said.

Lamont said the state is interested in working with neighboring states on contact tracing efforts, but said nothing is finalized yet. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday announced a new COVID-19 contact tracing program that would be coordinated with Connecticut and New Jersey, involving what Cuomo called an “army” of tracers.

Lamont said he has spoken “broadly” with Cuomo about the concept.

“Look, we share information. We’re going to working with him, working with New Jersey, working our regional governors in terms of how they’re doing contact tracing, how we can work that together, checking the data across state borders in some cases, because people go back and forth and infect different people,” he said. “We’ll make up our mind on that pretty soon.”

As of Wednesday, there have been nearly 22,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut, while 1,544 people have died.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

In other coronavirus-related developments around Connecticut:

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UNEMPLOYMENT BACKLOG REDUCED

The Connecticut Department of Labor said Wednesday it has processed more than 320,000 of the 397,000 unemployment claims it has received since March 13.

Agency officials are crediting a software improvement implemented last week for helping to reduce much of the backlog. The processing time has been reduced from about six weeks to three weeks. The department said it is “on target” to reduce that wait time further to one week by the end of this week.

Benefits will be retroactive to the date a person applied. Applicants are urged to select direct deposit, the quickest method of receiving their money.

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MASKS DECONTAMINATED

A research and development firm on Wednesday began cleaning N-95 respirator masks used by health care workers and first responders, an effort that’s expected to greatly increase the availability of the protective gear by tens of thousands a day across the state and region.

Jeff Rose, vice president of government operations for Ohio-based Battelle, said more than three dozen hospitals have agreed to ship their used masks to a state Department of Transportation warehouse in New Haven, where they will be decontaminated of the coronavirus with vaporized hydrogen peroxide. The process takes about five to six hours, with each of the four units able to cleanse about 5,000 masks, which can be reused about 20 times.

Battelle received federal approval last month to perform the cleaning. Connecticut is among the first states to use the new technology, and the service is being offered at no charge to the state’s hospitals and health care providers. Masks will also be accepted and cleaned from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York as well, Rose said.

“We feel like we can meet the needs here in the region,” he said during a news conference with the governor and members of the state’s congressional delegation.

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TESTING HELP NEEDED

The state of Connecticut is seeking organizations that want to help with efforts to significantly scale up daily coronavirus testing.

Lamont’s administration, which issued a request for proposal s on Tuesday, is seeking proposals from organizations that will support efforts to collect samples, especially in urban and under-served communities. The state is also accepting proposals from certified laboratories.

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DRUG ADDICTION CONCERNS

Experts are expressing concern over the effects the pandemic is having on those needing drug addiction and other behavioral health services. Dr. J. Craig Allen, the medical director at Hartford HealthCare’s Rushford treatment center, said isolation and anxiety can wreak havoc on those with substance abuse issues in the best of times. He said there has been a decline in those seeking help at the same time there has been a rise in sales of things such as alcohol, vaping products and cigarettes.

Allen said he worries that the pandemic will lead to a rise in drug and alcohol abuse, anxiety and depression. Hartford HealthCare has set up what they are calling a “warm line” for those who need to talk to a recovery specialist.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services announced Wednesday it has been awarded a $2 million federal grant to address behavioral health care needs of different populations heavily impacted by the pandemic. The list includes people with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, youth with severe emotional disturbances and their families, individuals with less severe mental health conditions, and health care practitioners.