This evening, Monday, March 29th New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan provided the community with a COVID update. Please read his message below:
Beginning next Monday, we plan to do our weekly coronavirus updates only by email except for New Canaan seniors age 75 and over who will continue to receive our weekly Covid-19 case reports by telephone.
Weekly COVID-19 Report
Last week we had a significant increase in the number of reported positive COVID cases for New Canaan residents with 49, up from 27 the prior week. We’ve had 9 new cases reported this week so far.
With all results back from last week’s three days of community testing at Lapham Center, there were 6 positive cases detected out of 154 residents tested for a positivity rate of 3.9%. The State of CT 7-day rolling average positivity rate is currently 3.6%. 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.
We strongly urge residents to refrain from any unnecessary gatherings regardless of size with those outside your immediate family members. Families who have positive family members should isolate infected persons from the rest of the household to the greatest extent possible.
And, as a reminder, anyone with symptoms of COVID 19 should not attend work or school or any extracurricular activity and should be tested as soon as possible.
The State Department of Public Health reminds everyone that we should all continue to maintain social distancing, wear masks when required, wash hands frequently, and minimize the number of close contacts in order to help control the spread of COVID 19 in our community.
Vaccination Clinics
Our Health Department will be vaccinating another 500 this Wednesday, March 31st, at Lapham Center for New Canaan residents who are aged 45 and over and the last of the remaining educators. This clinic is full and no walk ins are permitted.
Governor Lamont announced that beginning this Thursday, April 1st, providers can begin scheduling vaccination appointments for all age groups aged 16 and over. Our Health Department will be sending a message this coming Thursday by email only with information about making appointments for our Lapham Center vaccination clinic next Thursday, April 8th. This clinic will be for New Canaan residents only and will have the Moderna vaccine, which has been approved by the FDA for those over age 18 only. The Thursday email will include a Sign Up Genius link to schedule an appointment for April 8th.
As a reminder, New Canaan residents may also register through VAMS (https://dphsubmissions.ct.gov/OnlineVaccine) if you would like a vaccination appointment anywhere in CT. Besides VAMS, eligible residents may also try one of the pharmacies on the CT Covid-19 Vaccine Pharmacy list that is posted in the red COVID-19 alert box on the town website. The closest area pharmacy is Walgreens in New Canaan on Pine Street. You can go to Walgreens’ website (www.walgreens.com) to find appointments that may be available in the area.
COVID-19 COMMUNITY TESTING
Our COVID-19 community testing with Waveny LifeCare will continue at Lapham Center with only two days of testing this week (i.e., due to the upcoming holiday weekend, there will be no Saturday testing this week). The link for this week's Thursday and next Tuesday’s testing dates is contained in the email version of this outcall or you can find it in the red COVID-19 alert box on our website (www.newcanaan.info). (The SignUpGenius link for testing this Thursday April 1st and next Tuesday, April 6th is: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/COVIDTESTINGAPRIL1stand6th) Please note that we cannot accommodate walk-ins at the test site.
CT TRAVEL ADVISORY
Finally, as Governor Lamont announced, Executive Order 9S, Section 1 regarding travel is no longer in effect. Connecticut residents and travelers to Connecticut should follow travel-related guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) which can be found on the State’s coronavirus website (www.ct.gov/coronavirus/travel).
Stay safe, New Canaan
Kevin