nothin Covid Test Deal Collapses | New Haven Independent

Covid Test Deal Collapses

New Haven is no longer able to hold a mass distribution of at-home rapid Covid tests Friday and Saturday — because the tests aren’t coming.

Earlier this week Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the state had procured three million at-home tests to distribute this week to local governments.

New Haven was told to expect 60,000 of the tests, and readied a two-day mass distribution of 30,000 kits with two tests apiece.

But the expected arrival of the tests to Connecticut never materialized. First the state blamed supply-chain woes. Then the whole deal fell apart. Read more about that here and here.

On Friday the state did receive a smaller shipment of rapid tests, which it plans to distribute to local governments.

Politically it’s a mess, and the statewide finger-pointing has begun.

Meanwhile, local officials have to deal with the fastest spread to date of the coronavirus, albeit a less lethal variant of it. On Thursday Elicker administration officials reported at a Zoomed press update that they have obtained thousands of foldable N‑95 masks from the state to distribute to government essential workers, from firefighters and cops to teachers. The city on its own has also obtained some rapid Covid tests. They’re particularly focused on ensuring schools can open on Monday, which will mean lots of scurrying to test teachers and respond to inevitable outbreaks of cases in classrooms.

Click here to watch the Elicker administration press conference, which occurred before the announcement that the state deal to obtain the tests has fallen apart altogether.

Mayor Justin Elicker urged New Haveners to stay home on New Year’s Eve to try to limit the spread of the Omicron variant. On Thursday the state’s reported testing positivity rate topped 20 percent.

Also discussed at the press conference was the shortage of test kits, not just in New Haven, but nationwide. A saliva-test operation originally situated on Sargent Drive in the mornings and on the Green in the afternoons has now been cut in half, with just the morning sessions, because organizers were running out of tests.

The next few weeks promise to be tough on the community, but some experts see a light at the end of the tunnel based on Omicron’s trajectory in South Africa and then other nations: The variant’s spread appears to peak quickly, and cause far less severe destruction, at least in people who are double vaccinated and boosted.

Ted Littleford


Following is an earlier version of this story:

City Prepares To Distribute 60,000 Rapid At-Home Covid Tests

New Haven expects to receive a shipment of 60,000 at-home Covid-19 rapid test kits along with N95 masks from the state soon and then start distributing them to people in town.

City officials made that announcement at a press conference held Tuesday afternoon outside City Hall’s rear entrance.

They spoke as the Omicron variant fueled a surge in Covid cases. The state’s reported test-positivity rate hit 14.98 percent Tuesday. Yale New Haven Hospital’s intensive care unit is at 83 percent capacity, with cases climbing. Three-quarters of those hospitalized in Yale New Haven’s hospital system are unvaccinated; most of the others are 65 or older and/or have underlying chronic health conditions, Mayor Justin Elicker reported.

Covid is everywhere,” Elicker said. Get vaccinated, and get boosted.”

We anticipate that this is going to be a tough several weeks,” he added.

The press conference took place a day after Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the state will distribute three million iHealth” rapid tests this week to municipalities statewide, along with six million non-medical grade N95 masks.

Fontana: "We're at war."

At Tuesday’s press conference, Elicker said the city expects to receive 30,000 of the home kits, each of which contains two rapid tests.

The city will distribute them in two ways: Some kits will go to nonprofit organizations that work with vulnerable” populations like the homeless. The rest will be distributed to the public at mass events.

Elicker encouraged people who will be interacting with other people and therefore potentially exposing them to Covid-19 to come get the kits. That includes people planning to return to work on Monday and kids returning to school.

We do not intend to close schools. We will work very hard not to do that,” Elicker said. Officials will work case by case, classroom by classroom” to identify which groups of students need to quarantine. He urged parents to be prepared for their kids to need to learn remotely on a moment’s notice if Covid cases spread in their classrooms.

City emergency operations chief Rick Fontana, who is coordinating the mass distribution along with Health Director Maritza Bond, called this week’s pending shipment a start. There are more to come.”

We’re at war with the pandemic,” he said.

Meanwhile, demand for Covid testing has surged due to the spread of the Omicron variant along with the desire to test before family holiday gatherings. Elicker reported that the city’s new saliva-test operation — run by Wren Laboratories at 60 Sargent Dr. in the morning, on the Green in the afternoon — does still have test appointments available. You can go online to make an appointment. You can also show up in person to get a test, he said. (Update: On Wednesday, Wren abruptly closed the afternoon site on the Green.)

To find out about and book a Wren testing appointment, follow these steps:

Visit this webpage.

• Click on Covid Testing” at the top.

• Then click on the book an appointment” bubble at the bottom of the page. That will lead to a page with information about times available for appointments, and the number of people currently waiting in line in case you want to show up without an appointment.

Meanwhile, Gov. Lamont announced Tuesday that he has called up nearly 100 Connecticut National Guard soldiers and airmen to assist in the logistical operations” of distributing the three million tests and six million masks.

Ted Littleford

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