New Canaan’s highest elected official on Tuesday urged residents to avoid the types of Christmas gatherings that will lead to yet another spike in COVID-19 virus cases.
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan noted during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen that New Canaan continues “to see the effects of Thanksgiving gatherings.”
“And we are approaching Christmas season, where we are going to see another wave of Christmas gatherings and travel,” Moynihan said during the meeting, held via videoconference.
“Governor [Ned] Lamont’s comments [Monday] at his press conference, I think were very much on target, that we have the ability to control what’s going to happen, whether we are going to keep our stores open and our schools open, or whether we are going to close down like many others states and many countries,” Moynihan continued.
He added, “We would like to avoid another shutdown, but it’s going to be wholly dependent on whether people are going to be responsible and don’t have Christmas gatherings that are going to increase a January spike, which are probably coming in any event because of our neighboring states.”
The comments came on the heels of what Moynihan described in a town-wide outcall Monday as New Canaan’s “highest case total to date” with 41 new positive COVID-19 cases in four days. The spike was “not unexpected due to the timing after Thanksgiving gatherings,” he noted, adding, “Residents should refrain from unnecessary gatherings of any size to help reduce community transmission.”
According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s latest figures, released Tuesday afternoon, New Canaan has had 577 cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19—up 10 from the day before and 30 from Friday.
Moynihan noted during the selectmen meeting that New Canaan is doing “relatively well compared to the rest of the state and neighboring states” in terms of its infection rate.
“But people have to continue to take this very seriously and to try to avoid the kind of conduct that will continue community spread,” he said. “Thank heaven we have a vaccine that is beginning to be distributed and will be a game-changer over the next few months.”
These people who attend social gatherings show be arrested for spreading the virus to innocent people.