COVID-19 James Bairaktaris COVID-19 James Bairaktaris

Four Days Early: State Moves Vaccine Date for Ages 16+ to April 1

From the Hartford Courant, by Emily Brindley

In another acceleration of Connecticut’s coronavirus vaccination timeline, state officials announced Thursday that all residents aged 16 and older will become eligible for vaccination appointments on April 1.

The new timeline will allow Connecticut adults to begin making vaccination appointments four days earlier than expected — under the most recent iteration of the vaccine rollout, the general population was slated to become eligible on April 5.

The accelerated date will place Connecticut in the top 15 earliest states to open vaccine eligibility to all residents. The earliest, Alaska, opened eligibility in early March, according to CNN, and an additional 11 states will make that move before the end of March.

Connecticut will share an April 1 expansion date with Montana, edging ahead of five other states that are still slated to expand on April 5.

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Sunday COVID-19 Summary: Despite Public School Cases, Case Numbers Still Declining

Summary Sunday.png

This summary includes the total cases, deaths, vaccines, and current hospitalizations in our town, county, and state.

The State does not publish any data on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday - so this summary does not include any information collected on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Data from the past three days will be published cumulatively in tomorrow evening’s daily update.

All data comes from Connecticut Open Data portal. Numbers as of 03/18/21:

COVID-19 Cases

Westport:

  • 1,553 positive or probable cases (total) +56 from last week

  • 30 deaths (total) +1 from last week

  • 52,535 51,126 tests (total) +1,406 from last week

Fairfield County:

  • 85,225 positive or probable cases (total) +1,922 from last week

  • 2,097 Deaths (total) +23 from last week

  • 115 currently hospitalized; +10 from last week (as of 03/18/21)

Connecticut:

  • 296,691 positive or probable cases +6,114 from last week(total)

  • 7,832 deaths + 67 from last week (total)

  • 402 currently hospitalized +21 from last week (as of 03/18/21)

State Daily Test Positivity:

  • 2.87% of COVID-19 tests administered came back positive (on 03/18/21)

  • UP from 2.47% on 03/11/21

  • UP from 1.84% on 03/04/21

Westport Vaccine Coverage:

Data Current as of: 03/15/2021

All Ages (est. 28,491 residents)

  • First Dose Coverage: 27.31% vaccinated [+4.21% from last week]

  • First Dose Count: 7,781 [+1,201 from last week]

Ages 65-74 (est. 2,472 residents)

  • First Dose Coverage: 87.22% vaccinated [+5.01% from last week]

Ages 75+ (est. 2,132 residents)

  • First Dose Coverage: 84.24 vaccinated [+1.41% from last week]

The next update will be published tomorrow evening, and will include all data identified on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of this weekend.

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Westport Public Schools: 40 Positive Cases, Almost 400 Quarantined. 

From the Westport Public Schools COVID-19 Dashboard.

The Westport Public Schools COVID-19 numbers continue to grow, as nearly 400 students and staff are now forced home to quarantine with 40 people testing positive for coronavirus. Multiple sports teams and extracurricular activities are reported by parents through social media as affected.

The majority of the cases are from the Staples High School community, with 19 positive cases and 106 members in quarantine.

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Governor Announces Vaccine Registration for Everyone Aged 16+ by April 5th 

Breaking Press Release, Governor Ned Lamont

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is accelerating Connecticut’s age-based rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to proceed on a quicker schedule than was originally anticipated when it was announced last month. The revised schedule, which tentatively plans for the vaccine to expand to all adults over the age of 16 by April 5, comes as the state was informed by the Biden administration that it should anticipate receiving a significant increase in supplies of all three federally authorized vaccines over the next several weeks.

Connecticut continues to rank among the top five states in the nation in the percentage of population that has been vaccinated.

“We have some of the best and most dedicated providers in Connecticut who have been working around-the-clock to create the infrastructure that will provide vaccines to as many residents as we can as quickly as possible,” Governor Lamont said. “Based on our discussions with the federal government regarding vaccine allocation, we anticipate receiving more than 200,000 first doses per week by early April. This allotment, combined with our state’s strong execution over the past several weeks, allows Connecticut to significantly accelerate the schedule so that we can equitably and efficiently vaccinate as many residents as possible. It’s still going to take some time to get the vaccine to everyone who wants it and I urge patience to the greatest extent possible, but over these next several weeks I anticipate that we will have an opportunity to considerably increase the amount administered each day.”

“Thanks to the tremendous work of our vaccine providers, the efforts of the federal government to increase the supply of vaccines to the states, and the decision of the governor to stick with an age-based system, Connecticut has made tremendous progress in vaccinating our residents quickly, efficiently, and equitably,” Connecticut Acting Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said. “As we continue to focus on equity in our vaccination program, this more rapid expansion to younger age groups will give vaccinators, and local health and community organizations even more flexibility to reach out and connect with our high-risk communities to improve access. As we approach opening our vaccine program to all individuals over the age of 16, it remains important that everyone continue to wear masks, social distance, avoid large gatherings, practice good hand hygiene, and isolate and get tested if sick.”

Individuals who are currently eligible to receive the vaccine in Connecticut include:

  • All individuals age 55 and older;

  • Healthcare personnel;

  • Medical first responders;

  • Residents and staff of long-term care facilities;

  • Residents and staff of select congregate settings; and

  • PreK-12 school staff and professional childcare providers.

Going forward, Connecticut’s rollout of the vaccine will proceed on the following schedule:

  • March 19: Scheduling opens to all individuals age 45 to 54

  • April 5 (tentative): Scheduling opens to all individuals age 16 to 44

    • The state will work with providers and the Department of Developmental Services to accelerate access for the most medically high-risk individuals under 45 during the month of April.

All eligible individuals in Connecticut who would like to receive the vaccine must make an appointment in advance. Information on making an appointment and finding the closest available clinic can be found online at ct.gov/covidvaccine. Those without access to the internet can call Connecticut’s Vaccine Appointment Assist Line at 877-918-2224. The assist line is available seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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Westport Public Schools: 7 New COVID-19 Cases; Nearly 300 Quarantined; Counts Nearly Tripled in 1 Week

From the Westport Public Schools COVID-19 Dashboard.

Cases: 33 new cases since March 1 [28 cases currently].

Quarantined: 342 students and/or staff quarantined since March 1 [296 current quarantined].

COVID-19 cases and quarantine numbers are up since last Monday, according to the District’s dashboard data from last week compared to this week. 

Last Monday’s COVID-19 Dashboard Data

Last Monday there were 10 reported cases among staff and students, with 90 quarantining.

Today the District reports 28 cases, up 180%, with 296 in quarantine, up over 200%. 

Press Release

Dear Westport Families and Staff,

In our efforts to remain transparent with reports of positive Covid-19 cases associated with our schools, we will continue to provide these updates as information is confirmed. As of the time I am writing to you this morning we have 7 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 from the weekend. The reports came from the following schools:

Today's Data, captured Monday, March 15th at 10:00 AM.

  • Greens Farms Elementary School - 1

  • Kings Highway Elementary School - 1

  • Long Lots Elementary School - 2

  • Bedford Middle School - 1

  • Coleytown Middle School -1

  • Staples High School - 1

Those impacted have been notified by school and District officials. As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.

Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.

Respectfully,

Thomas Scarice

Superintendent of Schools

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