SHELTON — There have been eighteen COVID-19 related deaths on the lower Naugatuck Valley, according to the latest data release from the Naugatuck Valley Health District on Monday (April 6).
Seventeen of the 18 deaths have been in Shelton. The other is from Seymour.
According to the health district, 16 of the deaths were residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
Statewide there are 6,906 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut, with 1,221 people in the hospital. There have been 206 deaths in Connecticut related to the virus.
About 10,600 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. About 19,000 have recovered, according to a web tracker from Johns Hopkins University.
Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday the state is working to provide hospital discharge information to its daily tally. Click here for a Valley Indy story explaining why it’s hard to report recovery data.
Confirmed Positives Locally
Ansonia: 38
Beacon Falls: 13
Derby: 23
Naugatuck: 44
Oxford: Available here.
Seymour: 32, with 1 death
Shelton: 129, with 17 deaths
TOTAL: 279 cases
See the chart below for more information from NVHD.
In an interview Monday, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti said the majority of Shelton positive tests are coming from nursing homes within city limits. Click here to listen to the interview.
According to the health district, 34 percent of the 279 confirmed cases are people living in local nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, “or other similar setting,” according to NVHD.
Last week the state health department identified the facilities as:
In Shelton:
Apple Rehab Shelton Lakes
Bishop Wicke Health and Rehabilitation
Gardner Heights Health Care Center
In Seymour:
Shady Knoll Health Center
Bishop Wicke is part of the Wesley Villages communities in Shelton operated by United Methodist Homes.
Beth Bemis, vice-president of marketing & sales operations for United Methodist Homes, said the organization is caring for its residents.
“Our nursing teams are working closely with CT DPH (state department of health) and our preferred provider hospitals (Yale Health System, Griffin, Hartford Healthcare) to coordinate our response to COVID. In conjunction with DPH, any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID have been case managed by our infection control team, medical director and hospital partners. All have been very responsive in caring for those in need,” Bemis said in an email.
She said she could not disclose the number of patients who have tested positive due to federal privacy laws governing healthcare.
Nursing homes and similar facilities have been put under strict rules that prohibit visitors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bemis said Wesley Village staff has been “finding new ways to maintain connections with each other and their families.”
“All are practicing social distancing and receiving meals in their apartments or rooms,” she said. “We’ve had many special treats delivered door to door including a traveling omelet station, ice cream sundaes and hot chocolate. We have set up resident email accounts for families to write to each other and share photos and videos. We have had balcony, porch and window visits. We launched a Wesley Village TV station last week, with programming designed with input from our residents. We are working with students from Fairfield University and Quinnipiac University to connect them with residents via phone and Facetime. The COVID crisis is creating a unique opportunity to connect the generations.”
