Greetings Greenwich friends and neighbors.
Congratulations and welcome to five new Greenwich Fire Department recruits. I had the pleasure of swearing in the new firefighters this week on the apparatus floor of Central Station.
Ryan Crook, Tim Lewis, Scott Lanahan, Joseph Battinelli and Jennifer Osher will now head to the state fire academy for 18 weeks of training. They all have experience either professionally or as a volunteer with emergency medical and fire services. The recruits are filling vacancies created by recent retirements.
Welcome home and thank you to GPD Sgt. Sean O’Donnell
Greenwich Police Sgt. Sean O’Donnell recently returned from a nearly year-long tour of duty with the U.S. Army National Guard in Kuwait.
Sean is a Lieutenant Colonel with the Guard and has served for 31 years. He stopped by Town Hall this week to present the Town with an American flag that was flown over Camp Arifjan, Kuwait during his recent duty with the Division Operations Company 42D ID.
The flag now flies at the War Memorial in front of the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue.
Severe weather alert
The National Weather Service is predicting that this wintry blast of frigid weather will continue through the weekend. With gusty winds, wind chill factors will be between -5 to 5 degrees. There is an incoming snowstorm expected to start overnight Sunday into Monday and continue into Tuesday. Snow accumulations could be at least six inches. More details can be found here.
Depending upon snowfall and the weather conditions, the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Center may adjust hours of operation on Monday to ensure the safety of residents who use the facility. Please plan your dump runs accordingly.
Should residents need a warming center, the lobby of the Greenwich Public Safety Complex is open 24/7. Face masks and social distancing are required.
COVID-19 Update
The numbers are remaining steady.
As of today, there has been a total of 3,294 residents who have tested positive. The number of active cases has increased from last week, from 148 to 193. According to Health Director Caroline Baisley, the age groups that continue to be most affected by COVID are 11 to 60 years old.
Today, Greenwich Hospital has 34 patients being treated for COVID with three in the ICU, all of whom are on ventilators.
Greenwich Public Schools reports there are 35 active cases including 23 students and nine teachers. The number of deaths remains at 79.
The four vaccine clinics successfully opened this week for people age 75 and older. Admission is by appointment only and for Connecticut residents only.
Information about reservations may be obtained by calling the Yale New Haven Health COVID hotline at 1-833-275-9644; our Commission on Aging at 203-862-6710 or our Health Department. There are several phone lines at the Health Department to call: 203-622-7703, 203-622-7842, 203-622-7836, 203-622-7865 or 203-622-7614.
Due to high call volume, please be patient if you experience a wait time or are asked to leave a message.
You also may register via the Yale New Haven Health website: ynhhs.org/covidvaccine or the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) via the state Department of Public Health https://dphsubmissions.ct.gov/onlinevaccine.
If seniors who need a ride to a vaccination clinic, the Transportation Association of Greenwich (TAG) is available. You can either call 203-637-4345 or email at debbie@ridetag.org to make a reservation. The cost is $6 round trip. TAG follows CDC guidelines, taking temperatures, wearing masks and recently installed shields between the seats for added protection.
If you have any symptom such as a fever, cough, shortness of breath or loss of taste or smell, please get tested.
Testing information:
- Greenwich Hospital and the Yale New Haven Health system can be found here.
- Community Health Center can be found here.
- Family Centers at Wilbur Peck Court can be found here.
***
Please remember the 4 W’s: wear a mask; watch your distance; wash your hands and wipe down surfaces.
All the best,
Fred