An inpatient treatment facility for substance abuse is the site of one recent COVID-19 outbreak in Danbury, according to the state Department of Public Health.
In a statement Wednesday, DPH officials identified the facility as the Midwestern CT Council of Alcoholism Danbury Branch.
“So far five staff and one client have tested positive for COVID-19,” said DPH spokesperson Av Harris in an emailed statement.
“They have discharged all clients and will bring people back after self-quarantine and return-to-work protocols have been completed,” Harris said.
Public health officials have been on high alert after a relatively high number of COVID-19 tests have come back positive in Danbury in recent days.
Mayor Mark Boughton said the city reported 19 new cases Wednesday.
Kara Prunty, acting director of health for Danbury, told reporters Tuesday the rehab facility had one fewer staff infection but declined to give the facility’s name when asked by reporters.
“I will defer to the state DPH to give that information out,” Prunty said. “It’s an ongoing investigation.”
Harris said the Midwestern CT Council of Alcoholism Danbury Branch is “a substance abuse treatment program with three different programs. A short-term eight-day inpatient detox program, an outpatient program and a 21-day inpatient rehab program.”
Danbury residents are urged to get tested for COVID-19 and pick up the phone when a contact tracer calls.
Both local and state officials said those are crucial steps to stop what’s now an uptick of cases in the western Connecticut city from turning into a “runaway freight train.”
This story contains information from the Associated Press.
