New Canaan Health Dept to Begin Vaccinating Residents 65 and Older, Additional COVID Updates HERE =>

This evening, New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan provided a community coronavirus update reporting that last week, the number of reported positive COVID cases for New Canaan residents was 22, the same number as the prior week.  

Moynihan said, "We’ve had 10 new cases reported over the weekend for this week so far. Most cases continue to be due to family transmission, and our Health Director, therefore, reminds families to try to isolate a positive family member to the extent possible from the rest of the household."

TESTING

New Canaan's COVID-19 community testing at Lapham Center continued last week with three days of testing. "With all results back from last week’s Monday, Thursday and Saturday testing there was 1 positive case out of 111 residents tested for a positivity rate of  0.90%. These test results are included in the above-reported numbers.  Our local testing data continues to trend below the fluctuating State of CT positivity rate which this week has dropped below 4%," Moynihan explained. 

For updated information on the weekly cases, by age brackets, visit the red COVID-19 alert box on the town website at www.newcanaaan.info.

Vaccines for age 65 and older

Governor Lamont today announced that vaccinations of CT seniors age 65 to 74 will begin this Thursday, February 11^th but any clinics that have the capacity can begin to vaccinate those over age 65 immediately.  Moynihan explained that due to extra doses allocated this week to our Health Department the clinic at Lapham Center has capacity and will begin to vaccinate those over age 65 beginning this Wednesday, February 10^th from noon to 6:00 pm. You must have an appointment to be vaccinated; no walk-ins are permitted.

Online Registration

New Canaan Health Director last week created an online registration form and already has several hundred registrations for New Canaan seniors over age 65, so all spots for this Wednesday’s clinic are filled.  Priority for vaccination appointments at Lapham Center will be given to residents over age 75. If you are over age 75 and have not yet been vaccinated or do not yet have an appointment to be vaccinated please call our Health Department at 203-594-3037 to obtain an appointment.  

At this point, any New Canaan resident over age 65 may register to be vaccinated at Lapham Center over the next few weeks. The link for this voluntary vaccination sign up form can be found HERE.

If you already completed the form you do not need to complete it again.  Our Health Department will call you when they have an appointment available for you.

Please continue reading below for additional updates from Moynihan.

Local vaccination clinics

New Canaan seniors over age 65 may also register for vaccination appointments at other area clinics.  For example, Stamford Hospital began an expanded community vaccination roll out at their Bennett Medical Center Campus with the goal of vaccinating 600-1000 people a day. For more information and to sign up directly with Stamford hospital please visit COVID-19 Vaccination Information at Stamford Hospital’s website.  If you do not have an email address you may call 203-276-7300. 

Seniors 65 and over can also register with the State of CT online VAMS system to find a clinic elsewhere in the area if you want to drive a distance for a possible earlier appointment. To register on-line, go to Online VAMS Enrollment (ct.gov).  You must have an email address in order to receive the email invitations to sign up for an appointment in VAMS.  The State has set up a Vaccine Assistance Line 1-877-918-2224 and if a senior needs help with the VAMS website they can call the Vaccine Assistance Line for guided instructions or you can call our New Canaan Human Services Department at 203-594-3076 for assistance. 

COVID Testing

Our Covid-19 community testing will continue at Lapham Center three days a week. The link for this week's Thursday and Saturday test dates and next Tuesday's test date is contained in the email version of this outcall or you can find it in the red COVID-19 alert box on the town website at www.newcanaan.info. (The SignUpGenius link for testing this Thursday and Saturday, February 11 and 13, and next Tuesday, February16, is: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/COVIDtestingFeb11th). Please note that we cannot accommodate walk-ins at the test site.   

For the Waveny LifeCare testing at Lapham Center you must sign up each person in the household under their own name and date of birth.  Please be sure to include complete insurance information in the text box in the SignUpGenius registration.  Results will be provided within 72 hours by email with a message notifying you the results are ready in your portal so please provide your cell phone number as your contact number.  Please note every individual being tested must have their own unique email in order to receive the results via email through the patient portal with the lab.  Parents may have to create free email accounts (such as Gmail) for minor children in order to receive the results. The same email address cannot be used for multiple family members or the lab portal will have an error with the results.

We also remind residents that if you travel to any of the states or countries on the CT Travel Advisory list (except for less than 24 hours), you must quarantine for 10 days upon your return home or fulfill the testing requirements outlined in Executive Order 9S and also complete the travel form found on the state’s coronavirus website (https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/travel). 

Finally, we again urge you to please do your part in controlling the spread of the virus by wearing a mask anywhere where you cannot social distance, wash hands frequently and avoid any large gatherings where you will be exposed to non-family members.