CT Coronavirus Spread Different Now Than March: Birx

CONNECTICUT — White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx warned Connecticut residents that coronavirus transmission will likely look different from the first couple of months of the pandemic. Early warning signs seen before an increase in cases in the South are now being seen in the Northeast, Birx said.

Transmission of the virus within the workplace is very low, but there is increasing concern that spread is occurring during small social gatherings where people are more likely to let their guard down and take off their mask.

“This is really a message to everyone in Connecticut, the kind of spread that we’re seeing now is very different from the spread we experienced in March and April,” she said.

Birx appeared at the University of Connecticut Hartford campus for a roundtable discussion. UConn has a very high percentage of students who are taking classes in-person and has managed to keep the spread of the virus contained, she said.

UConn is also utilizing wastewater surveillance to detect the degree of infections within dorms.

“They made it very clear that spread is not happening in the classroom and they're not seeing cases between students and faculty and students in the community,” she said. “Where spread occurs is when we come together as individuals, often indoors, but sometimes outdoors, but without our mask and no longer physically distanced.”

Asymptomatic cases on college campuses may outnumber symptomatic cases seven to one, Birx said.

The country learned from the Northeast’s coronavirus surge in March and April, especially when it came to lowering the fatality rate, Birx said. The fatality rate is about a quarter of its peak in the U.S.

Now it’s time to learn lessons from the South, Birx said. Southern states saw an increase in transmission over the summer as the weather got hotter and people headed indoors for air conditioning. In the Northeast that could occur as the cold weather drives people indoors, especially for social gatherings.

Infection rates are improving in the South, but getting worse in the upper Midwest and Heartland states, Birx said. Contact tracing data from Utah shows that 80 percent of their transmission is occurring between household members and in social gatherings.

An uptick in cases and a positive test rate are very early indicators of more cases to come soon, she said.

“We just wanted to carry that message that this is what we saw early on in the South and this is the moment to really increase asymptomatic testing, increase outreach to the community, making sure that every community member knows that if they’re with individuals outside of their household it could be a Covid spreading event.”

Birx urged people in Connecticut who gather indoors with people outside their immediate household to assume someone within the group has the coronavirus and to continue to wear masks and keep a physical distance. This will be especially important in the winter months as humidity drops and respiratory droplets can stay in the air longer.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force is urging governors in the northeast to expand asymptomatic testing.

“We’re all not perfect so if we made a mistake, and we’ve gone to a party and we’ve taken off our mask… if I’ve done that, then five to seven days later I need to go get tested,” Birx said.

See also: CT 3rd Reopening Phase Starts Today: Here Are The Changes

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