Not the best news today.
First off, I learned a friend of mine has been admitted to the hospital after taking a turn for the worst at home. My friend is not on a vent, but requires 100% 02 by nonrebreather mask.
It is a reminder that behind each of these case numbers there is a face, a soul, a friend, a fathefr/mother or son/daughter, a person knocked low by this modern plague. If there is a reason to recommit to social distancing, it is the knowledge that someone you know is ill, and other people you know could suffer the same fate we if are not all careful.
Hospitalizations went up in all three major counties. It is particularly troubling because F airfield, the county closest to New York shot back up. What we want to see here is the numbers start to dip below the 0 line, so we are decreasing the number of people in the hospital, although that will probably lag the true turn because most people are in the hospital for at least two weeks. I've mentioned before my office is right by the ambulance entrance, and while the numbers of people being brought in on stretchers continues to go up (for the second day in a row, I had my highest number of EMS notifications to make), for the first time, I am starting to see EMS in full PPE wheeling masked patients past my office the other way, heading out to their ambulances to bring the patient likely to a COVID skilled nursing facility instead of into the ED.
I am hoping to report today on the updated Washington model (due out today), which last predicted 5,426 deaths by August 4, 2020 with a peak of 168 on April 26, 2020.
As a note: My charts come from data released by the public health department every afternoon. here's today's report.
COVID Update CT April 15, 2020
