Coronavirus Updates: Zero deaths in Connecticut for 1st time since March

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

NY, NJ, CT add 3 more states to quarantine list

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have added three additional states to the list of places where travelers must quarantine for 14 days

NEW YORK (WABC) -- For the first time since March, there were no COVID-19 related deaths to report in Connecticut Tuesday.

The state reported 57 new cases out of 5,745 tests to bring the total to 47,033, with a positivity rate of .99%, but the death toll stands at 4,338.

Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut added three additional states to the quarantine list, from which travelers are required to self-isolate for 14 days.

NEW YORK CITY

New York City entered Phase 3 Monday, and the Board of Health approved a plan to reopen childcare centers starting next Monday.

If approved, centers would reopen on July 13. New regulations include:

- No more than 15 children in a room

- Face coverings required for children over 2 and adults

- Daily health screenings

- Frequent cleaning and disinfecting

- Limited sharing of toys and supplies

The mayor also announced that Wednesday is the city's Get Tested Day of Action. The city is aiming to get 150,000 people tested for the coronavirus.

Grand juries will resume in the city's courts Aug. 10, allowing long-term investigations currently on hold to proceed. Courts have not yet given a date for resumption of trial jury summonses, which are held in more traditional courtroom settings.

NEW YORK STATE

New York reported 10 new deaths, while out of the 56,736 tests conducted, 588 or 1.04% tested positive. An additional 588 coronavirus cases were confirmed, bringing the statewide total to 398,237.

The Mid-Hudson region moved into Phase 4 on Tuesday, with Long Island slated to begin Phase 4 on Wednesday.

"Just wear the mask and say to the American people that this is real," Cuomo pleaded to President Donald Trump, accusing the commander in chief of facilitating and enabling the virus. "Look at New York, we did it."

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday visitors from three more states must quarantine for two weeks under an advisory aimed at travelers from COVID-19 hotspots.

Residents from neighboring Delaware as well as Kansas and Oklahoma should self-quarantine for 14 days if visiting New Jersey, according to the governor. The new states bring the total to 19.

LONG ISLAND

As Long Island enters Phase 4 Wednesday and more tourist attractions can open, officials warn that 15% to 25% of Nassau County's positive test results are people from out of state.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said that while visitors are welcomed, those coming from states with rising numbers of cases are asked to quarantine. Curran said Phase 4 is "very exciting" and includes reopening zoos, museums, historical sites, botanical gardens and aquariums.

CONNECTICUT

Gov. Ned Lamont said Connecticut will pause going into Phase 3, "erring on the side of caution," after seeing what happened in other states. The decision means bars will not reopen and gatherings will be limited to 25 people inside and 100 outside.

"We never opened our bars," Lamont said. "We never opened our restaurant up to 50% capacity. Let's take a pause. Let's keep it to 25% inside and 100 people outside."

Connecticut's Phase 3 reopening was expected sometime in mid-July. On Tuesday, the state announced zero new deaths from the coronavirus for the first time since March.

FIGHTING COVID-19

The Environmental Protection Agency has begun to approve surface disinfectants specifically proven to kill SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, in laboratory testing.

The agency announced Monday that two products, Lysol Disinfectant Spray and Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist, were both approved last week. Lysol said in a news release that Lysol Disinfectant Spray "was found to kill the virus at two minutes of use."

WATCH EYEWITNESS TO A PANDEMIC (Episode 4)

It overwhelmed the health care industry, it put millions out of work, it drowned social services in an ocean of need and threatened the food supply Americans had long since taken for granted. At the apex of the crisis and for the weeks that followed, no part of life, or even what followed life, was spared.