By John Murray
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Connecticut have been clobbered by COVID-19. The latest figures reveal that in the past nine weeks 2400 residents in long-term healthcare facilities in Connecticut have died from the virus.
That number would have been even higher if Connecticut wasn’t one of the first states to lock down nursing homes during the pandemic. The no-visitor rule has caused emotional anguish for thousands of families as they are unable to visit loved ones during the crisis.
Yesterday during a Zoom call with members of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont gave a glimmer of hope that the lock down might be eased in the near future.
“We’re still being cautious,” Lamont said, “but we’re thinking about ways to see grandma and still be safe.”
One of the options would be to allow families to visit outside of a nursing home where the odds of COVID-19 infections are reduced.
“We’re trying to be creative,” Lamont said. “We’re working on that.”
Which is terrific news for families yearning to see one another face to face.
