Greetings Greenwich friends and neighbors.
This special edition of Community Connections has details on our plans for the first phase to distribute the 8,010 COVID test kits for residents.
These kits, which contain two (2) tests each, are part of 500,000 kits the state of Connecticut is distributing to all 169 cities and towns. With a Town population of 63,518 residents, it is imperative that there is prioritization for those most in need of tests – those who are experiencing symptoms and our senior population.
The Town is scheduled to receive the test kits on Thursday morning, December 30.
Distribution of two kits (4 tests total) per household is scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, December 30, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at these drive-through locations, while supplies last. For this first-come, first-served distribution, all drivers and passengers must remain in their vehicles and wear a face mask at all times.
- The Greenwich Senior Center via the rear entrance on Bruce Place for Town residents who are at least 60 years old.
- Grass Island Park, Shore Road.
All participants will be required to show proof of residency via your valid Connecticut driver’s license or your 2021 Greenwich parks pass.
The Town expects to receive more information and guidance on the distribution of N-95 face masks from the State early next week.
I continue to encourage residents to receive the COVID vaccines and booster shots. As of Tuesday, December 28, the Town of Greenwich Health Department reports there are 445 active cases, an increase of 260 cases since December 21. Greenwich Hospital is treating 32 COVID patients on December 30.
With this surge in numbers, which we expect will continue through the New Year’s holiday and the return to school next week, I strongly urge everyone to get vaccinated and boosted. Those COVID patients who are vaccinated experience much milder symptoms than the unvaccinated patients. Unvaccinated patients account for about three-quarters of all hospitalized patients.”
Under recently revised guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control, if a self-test for COVID yields a positive result, that person should isolate for five days, if asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others. There is no need to obtain a follow-up PCR test.
Greenwich’s current mask-wearing rules require that anyone entering any Town facility, including Town Hall and libraries, and all schools, to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status.
Stay well and wishing you all of the best in the New Year,
Fred