Connecticut is not even close to the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, experts say.
Projections by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an organization funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation show the coronavirus could claim almost 800 lives in Connecticut.
It’s a figure now just in the dozens.
These projections also indicate Connecticut has really just begun a spike in infections, with the peak period occurring in mid-April, about three weeks away.
Dr. Ajay Kumar from Hartford Healthcare took a look at the trend.
“I think it seems very realistic, that number. It seems like a right number we see the peak, at that time”, Kumar said.
The projections also indicated that during that mid-April peak in Connecticut, state hospitals will need about 3,300 beds, but only have roughly 1,700 beds, about half of what is needed.
Kumar said that is why Hartford Healthcare and other providers are partnering up with area colleges and businesses to get more beds, if needed.
“With all the work we are doing working with our community teams, working with our hotels, working with Trinity College, that is why we’re preparing for that, so we’re preparing for the high end of the stress at this time," Kumar explained.
The interactive coronavirus projections by The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation were done by state, and nationally.
Besides hospital beds, IHME developed projections on ICU beds, ventilators, and death rates, in connection with the coronavirus crisis.
