Mid-August Update: New Case Activity, Voluntary Masking, Executive Orders 13C and 13D, Vaccine Boosters & Brush Clearing
New Case Activity
As of yesterday August 18th, Wilton’s 7-day new cases were 8 or 44 cases per 100,000 residents. This was more than a 50% decline from the prior week’s 20 new cases or 109 cases per 100,000. As such, Wilton is now at moderate transmission risk based on the CDC guidance. The State uses a 14-day daily average cases per 100,000 for their classification system, so Wilton remains as an orange community.
The decline in cases occurred after vaccinated residents voluntarily began wearing masks while indoors in response to CT DPH’s recommendation. The recommendation, consistent with the CDC, came as Fairfield County and the State reached substantial transmission.
Why voluntary mask wearing when 76% of residents are vaccinated? The transmission rate for the Delta variant appears to be about the same for vaccinated and non-vaccinated Wilton residents. As such, parents, grandparents and friends of young children, unvaccinated adults and the immunocompromised made the decision to wear the mask to prevent infection and the spread of the virus. As vaccinated residents, if infected they would generally have no symptoms or only mild symptoms and likely not be aware they had the virus.
There are many residents for whom vaccination and mask wearing is not a voluntary choice, including the more than 2,800 Wilton children 12 years of age and under.
Executive Orders 13C and 13D
Tonight the Governor issued the following executive orders:
- Executive Order 13C, which among others, allows CT DPH to provide vaccine information to health providers, school nurses and local health directors.
- Executive Order 13D, which among others, requires that “all Connecticut state employees and staff of all childcare facilities and preK-12 schools statewide have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by September 27, 2021. Those who do not get vaccinated due to certain exemptions will be required to be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis. However, state hospital and long-term care employees will not have the option of being tested in lieu of vaccination.”
Vaccine Boosters in September
By the week of September 20th, the federal government expects to make Pfizer and Moderna vaccine boosters available to individuals who had their second dose at least 8 months previously. The State of Connecticut is developing a distribution plan. This time, we do not expect small health districts, such as Wilton, to be part of the distribution plan.
Brush Clearing
Fairfield County received 9 inches of rain in July, more than 2 times the normal amount for the month. Prior to July, Fairfield County was already above normal rainfall levels. All this rain has been great for the growth of our lawns and gardens, but unfortunately also for the brush along the sides of the roads. If you live on a town-owned road, please report issues with overgrown brush on SeeClickFix. If you live on a state-owned road, please contact CT DOT at 203-972-0388. (You might also suggest they implement SeeClickFix or another internet based reporting system!) If you live on a privately-owned road, the owners are responsible for clearing.
If you have any questions, please contact me at lynne.vanderslice@wiltonct.org.
Thank you,
Lynne Vanderslice
First Selectwoman