Coronavirus Disease (COVID19) Updates & Red Cross Plasma/Blood Donations

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Travelers: Per State recommendations, any person coming into Connecticut by any mode of transportation for any reason is strongly urged to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Health District staff offers their sincerest condolences to the families who have recently lost loved ones in Weston and Westport, there has been a COVID19 related mortality in each community.

A review of the number of positive COVID19 cases being reported by the Connecticut State Department of Health, as of 4:00 pm this Friday April 3, 2020 reveals that out of the total 4914 (an increase of 1090 from yesterday) confirmed laboratory cases in Connecticut, 2716 (an increase of 584 from yesterday) were located in Fairfield County; 134 (an increase of 9 from yesterday) were from Westport and 32 (an increase of 3 from yesterday) from Weston. Norwalk (435 cases), Danbury (402 cases), Stamford (589cases), Waterbury (160), New Haven (174) and Greenwich (189) now surpass Westport in the number of cases. Although Fairfield County continues to have the largest number of positive cases in Connecticut, New Haven County is next with 679 cases (667 yesterday), Hartford County with 679 cases (539 yesterday) and Litchfield County 173 (141 yesterday).

Of those with confirmed cases in Connecticut, the largest number of cases continues to be in the over 50 to 59 age group, however, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases in the lower age groups. The over 80 age group has the highest rate of hospitalizations and deaths.

To best protect yourself and loved ones, assume the virus is everywhere and avoid touching your face before washing your hands.

For a more detailed look at how COVID19 is spreading across the state, click on this link:

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Coronavirus/CTDPHCOVID19summary4032020.pdf?la=en

The next round of community testing for Westport and Weston Residents,conducted by Murphy Medical, will beat the Bedford Middle School, 88 North Avenue:

  • Tuesday,   April  7,  2020      8:30AM – 12:00PM

Residents must register and book an appointment at to be tested: https://coronatestct.com

There are other testing sites. If you have had contact with a confirmed COVID19 positive individual and have symptoms, please feel free to arrange testing at one of these other sites that can be found using this link:   http://wwhd.org/coivd-19-testing-sites/

 

Red Cross Plasma/Blood Donations

The Westport Weston Health District’s Director of Clinical Care has been in communication with local Connecticut hospitals and The American Red Cross. The American Red Cross is working on developing an FDA approved program to collect Convalescent Plasma from recovered Covid19 patients. Convalescent plasma (a blood product that is rich in antibodies used against the infectious disease) can be donated by people that have recovered from Covid19.

Those that have recovered from Covid19 and are at least 14 days without symptoms may be eligible to donate their plasma.  To be placed on a list to potentially donate in the future, go to this website: https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/plasma-donations-from-recovered-covid-19-patients.html.

Convalescent plasma is an investigational treatment for Covid19 and to read more about this process, please visit the FDA website https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/investigational-new-drug-ind-or-device-exemption-ide-process-cber/investigational-covid-19-convalescent-plasma-emergency-inds