Norwich — A 43-year-old Norwich man has tested positive for COVID-19, the Connecticut Department of Public Health announced Saturday.

It is the first case within the Uncas Health District, and the second confirmed in New London County. The first, a 44-year-old East Lyme woman, was announced Friday.

The person is being treated at the William W. Backus Hospital and is in isolation, hospital President Donna Handley said in a letter sent to employees Saturday. Handley wrote "from the beginning of his encounter" hospital staff properly followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, as well as properly adhering to personal protective equipment practices.

"We are confident that staff have been kept protected," she wrote.

Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said the unidentified man is a truck driver who is married and has at least one young child. The family is being quarantined at home.

Since Friday, an additional 29 Connecticut residents have tested positive, bringing the statewide total to 223, Gov. Ned Lamont's office announced Saturday night. The list showed only one case in New London County, and it did not appear that the Norwich case was included in that breakdown.

The state Saturday also announced a fifth Connecticut resident has died from complications due to COVID-19. The person, a man in his 80s, was a resident of a Stafford Springs nursing home. He had been receiving treatment at Johnson Memorial Hospital.

More than 3,100 tests have been conducted in the state to date, the governor's announcement said. About 43 people are hospitalized with the disease.

“Positive cases of COVID-19 within our jurisdiction have been expected, as community transmission of the virus continues to occur in Connecticut,” said Patrick McCormack, Uncas Health District’s director of health. “The Uncas Health District and its staff will assure that all appropriate CDC protocols regarding positive cases and potential contacts are followed.”

It was not clear when or where the victim was tested, or the severity of his case.

Uncas Health District Director Patrick McCormack said he could not provide details about the person, citing privacy restrictions. McCormack said the district learned of the case at about 5 p.m. Saturday and already has reached the people the man had been in close contact with and updated a statewide public health database of coronavirus cases.

“I think the community was aware that positive cases would occur in our area,” McCormack said. “I think the medical community and the public health community has been prepared for this.”

The Uncas Health District said in a news release it will continue to promote social distancing as the best way to slow the spread of the virus and is working iwth local and state partners to prepare for widespread community transmission of COVID-19.

“We remind the community that it is important to be proactive and continue efforts to distance themselves from others,” McCormack said.

Social distancing is crucial in helping to reduce the spread of the virus and limit the number of people who are infected, the district wrote.

Further state measures

In a continual effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, Lamont signed his 10th executive order Saturday as part of his emergency declaration. It seeks to provide broad relief for municipalities regarding procedures, notice requirements and deadlines for various proceedings and decisions.

The governor's office also announced Saturday that the state has received responses from more than 100 entities since launching its request for personal protective equipment, such as masks, on Friday.

The Department of Economic and Community Development is preparing guidance to Connecticut businesses for implementation of the governor's executive order issued this past week calling for all nonessential businesses to close. The policy, similar to those being put in place in New York and other states, calls for residents, particularly those over the age of 70, to remain at home and for retail businesses to close.

Lamont said grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations can stay open. Major construction projects, such as school projects, can continue, he said, and major manufacturing facilities, including defense contractors, can continue to operate.

The Department plans to release the guidance prior to the order going into effect Monday.

Day Staff Writer Claire Bessette contributed to this report.

m.biekert@theday.com