DANBURY, Conn. — Governor Ned Lamont will be visiting Danbury this morning as the city faces a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
Gov. Lamont was joined by Mayor Mark Boughton, Connecticut Department of Public Health Acting Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford, City of Danbury Acting Health Director Kara Prunty, and other local officials.
According to health officials, the positivity rate is 6-7% in the city while the rest of the state remains at 1% or lower.
State Rep. David Acronti (D), chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, said they are seeing the outbreaks particularly in areas that had lost power for a week following Isaias.
Gov. Lamont said it was ironic they were back in Danbury on Tuesday talking about an uptick in cases due to Danbury Hospital seeing the first reported case of COVID-19 back in March.
Officials thanked the Danbury community as a whole for coming out to get testing and participating with contact tracing and abiding by restrictions. Mayor Boughton said they are still hiring contact tracers due to the various languages spoken in the city.
One area in particular that officials pointed to as a problem was Candlewood Lake. Mayor Boughton said there was almost "an Uber" of boats bringing kids to the island for gatherings. The boat launch at the lake has now been closed.
Mayor Boughton said he had been at a youth sports game the other day and noticed parents not socially distancing in the stands and not wearing masks and said that was a problem. He also discussed the transmission risk with sports like soccer and other activities, citing recent research saying children, while not adversely affected by COVID-19, still carry a high viral load.
In Danbury, they are also investigating a small outbreak at a rehab facility where four staff members and one patient tested positive. Officials also say that outbreaks seem to be also stemming from small family gatherings and ask people to still socially distance. City officials said they are testing nursing homes in the city.
Mayor Boughton said that they really only had a week and a half to put their arms around the uptick before it became a "runaway freight train". At this time, officials say the spread has not crossed into neighboring towns.
According to Mayor Boughton, another source of transmission is from people who have been internationally traveling and not filling out the forms that are required by the state once arriving back into Connecticut.
In a letter to parents, staff, and students Monday, Danbury school superintendent Dr. Sal V. Pascarella announced that students will start the school year at home.
Pascarella said the decision was due to the recent uptick of COVID-19 cases in Danbury.
"The COVID- Calvary has come into Danbury, we revamped up our testing dramatically there,” said Governor Ned Lamont in his state briefing Monday saying his eyes are set on the city and will monitor the area as time goes on.
So far, the rise in cases has not been seen in neighboring towns. The city reported over 170 news cases with more being added Monday.
Mayor Boughton said the superintendent will be monitoring the city's metrics before a decision on hybrid learning for the city's students.
Governor Lamont said, "As you look at New Fairfield and other towns in the area we're watching that very closely so far their infection rates have stayed very low and that's why their school is going to continue to open up on a regular basis as they see fit.”
According to health officials, the spike was caused by a number of reasons.
“One is travel. Both international and national. Second is in some of our sports leagues both adult and youth leagues. The third is among our places of worship.,” said Mayor Mark Boughton.
Classes start on Sept. 8.
Over the weekend, administrators at Western Connecticut State University said they were also starting the school year with remote learning.