New Canaan Coronavirus Update: Goal is Flattening the Pandemic Curve

 
It is 7:00 pm on March 14th and this is Emergency Management Director Mike Handler with an important update on the novel coronavirus. Our number one priority is to slow the spread of the virus throughout our community. What we do or don’t do over the next week will have a massive impact on the local and perhaps national trajectory of this pandemic. When we say people should not be gathering in groups, we are referring to adults and children, both out in town and in private homes. We cannot stress this enough. 
 
We did not close our schools to make room for house parties and group playdates. The actions that we all take today have serious consequences for our seniors and medically fragile tomorrow. This is our best opportunity to try and keep those who need intensive care from needing it when it is least available. The science behind this is indisputable. We know this is not easy, but we must ask for your cooperation or face having to place greater restrictions on the community. This is not easy. We are here to protect you and assist in any way possible.
 
Flattening the Pandemic Curve
Why are social distancing and strict limits on social gathering so important? I am hopeful that by appreciating the answers to these questions we, as a community, will begin to realize how our actions can dramatically affect the impact the novel coronavirus has on others. What we do right now really matters. This is not about reducing the total number of individuals who get sick. This is about reducing the number of individuals who get sick at one particular time because our healthcare system has capacity limitations. While our hospitals have plans to handle traditional “surge,” they do not have anywhere near what is projected in the case of the novel coronavirus. This is the difference between having enough critical care beds and ventilators to care for our loved ones when they need them the most versus a very grim alternative. We have learned this by witnessing what is happening in other affected countries. The following graph “Flattening the Curve” illustrates the value of aggressive protective measures. Because it cannot be said enough, the best protective measures we can take are social distancing, limits on social gathering and thorough handwashing.
  
Problems with the Town’s Outcall System
We are experiencing technical problems with our Outcall System. Our third-party communications vendor is having system-wide issues given the volume of outgoing messages and we are working to switch to a new provider soon. 
 
 
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Submitted by New Canaan, CT

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