COVID Cases in Brookfield
As of yesterday, Thursday the 11th of March, Brookfield remains in the Red Zone.
In the last two weeks reported we have had 53 new cases of the virus in Brookfield. This is down from last week’s total of 59. Cases last week were 30,up from the 23 reported for the prior week.. The rate per 100K residents is 22.3. The positivity rate for Brookfield is now 3.6%, down from 4.4% last week. Trends overall have been moving in the right direction for over 9 weeks now.
ST. JOSEPHS CLINIC
We are working on the clinics to be held at St. Joes. We will start in April and have clinics 6days a week, including some night hours and Saturdays. Clinics will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday one week and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday the following week. More detail will be sent out when our plans are completed.
THANKS TO OUR CLINIC STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS
The work that has been done to set up and support the clinics we are holding for our residents has been superb. Our staff and volunteers have done an outstanding job and have gone above and beyond to ensure that our clinics are safe, move people quickly through the process and most importantly, are done with compassion and support for our residents. Please take the time to thank anyone you know who have been helping us. I have only gotten words of praise about our clinics and not a single complaint. Many towns are not holding clinics but Brookfield pulled together and has gotten this incredibly difficult job done and done well.
WHO CAN MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AND WHEN
All residents aged 55 and over can now make an appointment for the vaccine along with other designated groups.
The current plan calls for the following groups to be eligible:
· March 22, 2021: Those aged 45 to 54 will become eligible
· April 12, 2021: Those aged 35 to 44 will become eligible
· May 3, 2021: Those aged 16 to 34 will become eligible
To make an appointment by phone:
The phone number to call for an appointment is: 877-918-2224. The phones are open from 8AM to 8PM seven days a week. More information on this is available on the town website.
Link to guide for making phone appointments here.
To Make an Appointment online:
Sign up online by going onto CT DPH website to sign up when you qualify:
You cannot sign up until you qualify.
BROOKFIELD’S CLINICS WILL BE GROWING AND MOVING
Brookfield plans to expand our clinics in early April and move them to St. Josephs School. We plan on having clinics on Monday through Saturday and are hoping to obtain many more doses than we are currently allocated. This is good news and we will be providing more detail in the coming weeks. We believe the number of available doses will grow significantly over the coming weeks
Facts about our current clinics:
- Brookfield clinics are small and our appointments are currently full. We don’t anticipate cancellations.
- We are not collecting names for an “end of day” waiting list. It is possible that there are a few appointments at the end of the day; our clinic administrator will contact people that we are aware of who qualify. This is rare. We are not keeping a list as some other clinics are.
- Teachers and childcare workers will be vaccinated in separate clinics and will be notified directly by the schools.
- There is currently insufficient allocation of vaccine to support all those eligible to immediately receive the vaccine – patience will be required. Expect that when scheduling an appointment, even if you sign up on March 1st, you may only be able to make an appointment over the month of March and into April. You can make an appointment at any clinic in the State.
- Please keep checking the town website where we will keep our FAQ up to date on changes that affect our residents.
REOPENING CT RULES HAVE BEEN UPDATED:
Beginning Friday, March 19, 2021
· All capacity limits will be eliminated for the following businesses, while face coverings, social distancing, and other cleaning and disinfecting protocols will continue to be required:
o Restaurants (8-person table capacity and 11PM required closing time for dining rooms continues)
o Retail
o Libraries
o Personal services
o Indoor recreation (excludes theaters, which will continue to have a 50% capacity)
o Gyms/fitness centers
o Museums, aquariums, and zoos
o Offices
o Houses of worship
· Gathering sizes will be revised to the following amounts:
o Social and recreational gatherings at private residence – 25 indoors/100 outdoors
o Social and recreational gatherings at commercial venues – 100 indoors/200 outdoors
· All sports will be allowed to practice and compete, and all sports tournaments will be allowed, subject to Department of Public Health guidance
· Connecticut’s travel advisory will be modified from a requirement to recommended guidance
At the same time we are reopening, protocols that will remain in effect until further notice include:
· Face coverings and masks continue to be required
· Bars that only serve beverages continue to remain closed
· 11PM closing time remains in place for events at venues, restaurants, and entertainment
· Indoor theaters continue to have a 50% capacity
· Large event venues (e.g. stadiums) to open in April
· Beginning Monday, March 29, 2021
· Capacity limits on early childhood classes will increase from 16 to 20
Beginning Friday, April 2, 2021
· Outdoor amusement parks can open
· Outdoor event venues can increase to a 50% capacity, capped at 10,000 people
· Indoor stadiums can open at 10% capacity
· Summer camps and summer festivals are advised to begin the planning stages to open for the upcoming season
GOOD NEWS
I think we are getting very close to when we will no longer be sending out CodeRED messages on Fridays. I look forward to that day very much.
B