New Canaan COVID Update from First Selectman Kevin Moynihan

This evening, Wednesday, August 11, New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan provided a community COVID update. 

Family Fourth Fireworks Canceled

First of all, I regret to inform you that we have canceled the 2021 Family Fourth Fireworks Celebration that was rescheduled for this weekend. Besides an unsettled weather forecast for Saturday, we decided to cancel out of an abundance of caution due to the uncertain evolution of the Delta variant in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

WEEKLY COVID-19 REPORT 

In the last two weeks, we’ve had upticks of 10 and then 12 reported Covid-19 positive cases for New Canaan residents. We’ve had 17 positive cases so far this week. So we are seeing a continuing uptick of cases in New Canaan due to the Delta variant, as is happening across Connecticut and many other parts of country. These local positive cases are across all age brackets and predominantly in the unvaccinated. Some of the local cases are among multiple family members.  For updated information on the weekly cases, by age brackets, visit the red COVID-19 alert box on the town website at www.newcanaan.info. 

We’ve had 14 “break-through” positive cases of fully vaccinated residents associated with travel or being in close contact with someone who recently traveled to an area with low vaccination/high transmission rates. The 14 break-through cases are out of 14,164 fully vaccinated New Canaan residents which equates to 0.10% so they continue to be rare and we encourage everyone who can be vaccinated to get vaccinated. The majority of the break through cases are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms so the vaccine is effective in preventing severe illness and death in these known local cases. We urge residents to refer to CDC travel guidance for additional information if you are planning a trip to an area that has low vaccination/high transmission rates, as additional mitigation measures may be needed in the destination you may be planning to travel to.

Last week, the CT DPH website alert data listed New Canaan as being yellow in terms of case rate. Yellow indicates case rates between 5 and 9 per 100,000 population. Several towns in Fairfield County also are yellow. [You can check out the CT DPH town alert map at https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/COVID-19-Data-Tracker which is updated by DPH weekly on Thursdays.]

We would like to remind residents if you feel ill or are symptomatic please stay home and do not attend work, sports, school, camp, or any gatherings. New symptoms such as projectile vomiting, high fevers of 103+, severe cough and diarrhea are being reported to the health department. Other symptoms may include: chest pain, congestion, bad headache, lethargy/exhaustion, body aches, and loss of sense of smell/taste. 

We remind parents that children under the age of 12 cannot be vaccinated at this time so if your child becomes symptomatic please contact your pediatrician or get your child tested at one of the area test sites. If they have been exposed as a close contact to a positive case they must quarantine for 10 days. Limited rapid testing for symptomatic close contacts of positive cases is available with our Health Department. Please contact the Health Department to report positive cases or for further guidance regarding possible rapid testing of symptomatic individuals. 

VACCINATION UPDATE 

According to state DPH data as of August 5^th, 99.35% of our seniors over age 65, 86.41% of those age 45 to 64, 99.79% of those age 16 to 44, and 79.64% of those aged 12-15 age have received at least one dose of vaccine. Overall, 76.09% of our total New Canaan population has received at least one dose and 70% of our total population is now fully vaccinated. The Health Department has administered 13,875 doses to date. 

Our Health Department continues to provide vaccinations by appointment of all 3 vaccines for those still in need of either a first or second dose at their office located in Vine Cottage, 77 Main Street, next to Town Hall.  The Pfizer, Moderna and Jansen (J&J) vaccines are all available. 

To schedule a vaccination appointment with the New Canaan Health Department please call 203-594-3020 or email Shannon.vallerie@newcanaanct.gov 

As a reminder, J&J is a single dose vaccine for ages 18 and over, Moderna is a two dose vaccine taken at least 28 days apart for ages 18 and over, and Pfizer is a two dose vaccine taken at least 21 days apart for ages 12 & over.

If you are coming for your second dose please bring your white vaccination card to your 2^nd dose appointments so the Health Department can add the 2^nd dose vaccination information to your card. 

Also, for the 12-15 year olds, a signed parental consent form is required and a parent/or guardian must be present with the child at the appointment with both sets of VAMS forms completed for the child. Those aged 16-17 must have a signed parental consent form and the VAMS forms but do not have to have a parent/or guardian present. 

COVID-19 TESTING 

For testing locations in the area you can call 2-1-1, contact your primary care provider or visit the town website by clicking here for list of testing sites in our area. 

Stay safe, New Canaan.