When town and local health officials announced they’ll hold a public meeting on the coronavirus tomorrow (Sunday, March 8, 12 noon, Library Forum), many Westporters breathed a sigh of relief.
Others wondered why there’s an open forum about a disease that could be passed along in large gatherings.
Fear not.
The event — which includes 1st Selectman Jim Marpe, Westport Weston Health District director Mark Cooper, Fire Chief Robert Yost (Westport’s director of emergency management); Suzanne Levasseur (Westport Public Schools health supervisor) and others — is available remotely.
The meeting can be viewed live on the library’s website. It will also be livestreamed on the Westport Library Facebook page.
If you do venture out in public: The Library opens at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
With the news of the Westchester nurse testing positive after shifts at Danbury and Norwalk Hospitals, makes it more urgent that Westport expand its presenters to include some hospital reps to tell us just what our local health institutions are capable of should we get very sick: Immediate testing? Isolation rooms? Number of respirators? I know that’s about all we can expect at the moment.
CONNECTICUT UPDATE 2020:
11,149 test positive
2454 Hospitalized
65 Deaths
Oh wait, that’s the Flu….
Never mind.
Statistics won’t matter to the first Connecticut resident who dies alone, quarantined, separated from all family and friends who could provide solace. Witness the anguish in Seattle.
And I guess they don’t matter to the 65 who died this year from the Flu…witness the aguish in CT.
common sense would dictate that they should cancel the public forum and stream it all.
What is the library’s policy regarding sick people using the facility? Too often I’d see visibly ill people lounging in the common area.
Agree @Bob Stalling that the common flu is more deadly but Covid-19 is new. Plus the news today that an infected nurse and doctor — both from Westchester — did shifts at Norwalk, Bridgeport and Danbury Hospitals, makes even more necessary that local hospitals speak at the Sunday forum and let us know about their state of preparedness. Frankly, being 70 and most at-risk, I’d like to know which one to go to if I get sick. Or should it be Stamford or New Haven instead?
The infectious disease specialists at the CDC and elsewhere are well aware of the types of flu statistics cited above but are even more concerned—and justifiably so—about the potential danger right now posed by Covid-19 and are trying to head off a potentially far worse rate of fatalities and serious illness precisely because there is no vaccine now (as there is for the flu).
This is evidenced by the latest guidance for people over 60 (even if you have no underlying health issues): https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/health/coronavirus-older-people-social-distancing/index.html
@Bill Kutnik – define more deadly! Problem is no one knows what the #s really are. Some are suggesting to use the cruise ship with 700+ infected and South Korea to model scenarios. Almost everyone agrees that China was likely under-reporting by 10-100x+ in both cases and deaths (and welding people into their apartments – who knows how those folks are?) What we do know is WHO is stating CFR is 3.4 (and in Italy over 4) based on available data. Also, look at the leaked AHA slide that is being presented to hospitals around the country to help them prepare: It runs a “best guess” scenario showing C19 to be 10x more burden than the flu. Further, I was reading that the mean recovery time is 32 days (trying to verify) – that is frightening in of itself! Additionally, due to how easily its transmitted, CDC guidelines still have hospitals treating it as airborne even though many are saying its just aerolisized. Many hospitals are not equipped for this (no or limited isolation / negative air rooms). I have read reports of it being found in HVAC systems. Also no one really knows how long it lives on surfaces (or at least they didnt when I read some reports a week or so ago) but best guess is it lives longer than most viruses / the typical flu virus. I’d say the concern is real especially if doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and first responders are being quarantined around the country. If the hospital system is overwhelmed and those that provide care are quarantined or infected, its not going to be pretty (in addition to hospitals not having enough beds or equipment to provide care).
This is just an observation post…
Apparently, a very large group of you weren’t concerned about large gatherings Thursday night March 5 at the library for the Beethoven Concert Series with Fredic Chiu at the piano.
The place was packed wall to wall! The upper and lower parking plus the public parking of the police station were packed too!
Now when the town invites everyone to the SAME library for Coronavirus Forum a large group of you voiced it should be live streamed instead of a large gathering which was done which was a smart move for those who didn’t wish to attend a group gathering.
Amazing what can happen in just 3 days..,