Rising COVID-19 cases across the country, state and region have prompted one city to temporarily move meetings remotely.
Brookfield will be holding all city hall meetings via Zoom through June 3, on the advice of the director of health, according to a notice on the city’s website. First Selectwoman Tara Carr said she knows 10 Brookfield City Hall employees, one employee outside City Hall and two from the police department who have tested positive for COVID.
“We are trying to minimize the spread of Covid to protect both staff and residents,” Carr said in an email.
City Hall will remain open to the public “for official business only,” she said. Residents are encouraged to use online services. Masks are recommended, not required, she said.
Carr said she is wearing a mask and following COVID protocols, adding she is relying on the health director’s guidance.
COVID cases have been rising across the state in recent weeks, although Tuesday’s positivity rate was about 12 percent, lower than the previous week’s days.
“There is no question that what happened changed completely, I largely attributed it to the subline,” said Dr. Raymond Sullivan, Brookfield Health Director. “It just behaves very differently than most other variants in the past.”
According to the latest state data on May 19, Brookfield reported 34.5 daily cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period, joining several local communities with rising rates of confirmed infections — but the numbers, health officials say, don’t tell the whole story .
“The metrics are changing, we’ve been tracking positivity rates for two years now and the problem, of course, is that we have a lot of home tests and, for example, rapid tests are no longer reported to the state,” Sullivan added.
In Redding, the latest state data shows the city has registered 62.7 new cases per 100,000 people every day over a two-week period.
Redding health officer Douglas Hartline said: “I don’t have an answer” when asked what might be behind the sudden spike in new cases, which have more than doubled from the previous week.
“If you look at the number next week, it could be very different,” he added.
In Danbury, a daily testing clinic began at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Pat Waldron Veteran Hall. A city spokesman said the clinic was treating between 25 and 35 patients each day, a relatively low number, and there would be no change in terms of city operations for the time being. The city has a COVID rate of 20.2, according to state data.
“We continue to strongly encourage individuals to get vaccinated and get their booster shots,” said John Kleinhans, spokesman for the city’s mayor.
Brookfield is making testing kits available to its staff and residents “until we run out, which unfortunately will be soon,” Carr said.
“We also encourage employees and residents to purchase test kits for free through the state or through their personal insurance plans,” she said.
She has encouraged staff to stay home when sick.
“We must remain calm and take appropriate action to ensure our health and well-being across all departments as City Hall has performed very well over the past two years,” Carr wrote in a guidance to City Hall. “This includes the basics of best possible distancing, hand sanitizer, optional mask wearing, fresh air circulation, cleaning our work areas, and proper and frequent hand washing.”
“Fortunately, from my understanding, those who have tested positive are experiencing less severe cases of Covid and I am praying for a speedy and complete recovery,” she added.
