Town officials reported 26 more confirmed COVID-19 cases for New Canaan over the weekend.
Likely positive cases for the virus also ticked up from 17 to 19 for New Canaan, according to data released by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
The new cases come amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and as local officials prepare to ticket those violating state rules about social distancing downtown, and gatherings.
In a message sent out Monday, Moynihan noted that “community transmission is occurring more rapidly.”
“We continue to see cases spread from gatherings, dinner parties, out-of-town care givers, house cleaners and not unexpectedly within families. This rapid case increase over the weekend illustrates how fast community transmission spreads and accelerates.”
Despite a tapering off of new cases through the summer—leading Moynihan to declare in early September that “New Canaan is living in a bubble”—the town has seen the spread of COVID-19 rise steadily in the weeks since then, and has been bracing recently for a fall surge. Last month, town officials created a “mandatory mask zone” downtown.
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan noted during a town-wide outcall Friday that New Canaan residents had 27 new positive test results in the prior seven days.
“We urge residents to report positive cases directly to the New Canaan Health Department,” Moynihan said during Monday’s message, so that “contact tracing can be started immediately in order to contain the spread of the virus.”
“If you have children in any of the schools or daycares please contact them immediately upon finding out a positive test result in order for them to begin their part of the contact tracing as well,” he said.
The Board of Selectmen last week hired a part-time public health nurse in the New Canaan Health Department who is expected to help with local contact-tracing efforts.
On Monday, New Canaan Public Schools had eight students and one staff member district-wide isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 virus. Also, 230 students and 19 staff members in the district were quarantining Monday as a result of close contact with a positive case.
Even so, the virus is not being transmitted among students in the schools themselves, but as a result of non-school activities, particularly youth sports, officials have said.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said in an email to parents Sunday that none of the 540 students and staff members who underwent volunteer testing for COVID-19 Friday were positive.
“[O]ur mitigation strategies are working,” part of the email said.
“These results also tell us that we do not need to adjust our operations at this time, and all of our schools will remain open to every student, K-12,” Luizzi said in the email.
Pfizer on Monday said in a press release that it has developed a vaccine found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19.