COVID-19 testing is finally coming to Wilton.
First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice announced in her nightly update that the town of Wilton has scheduled its first town-sponsored PCR COVID-19 testing event to be held at Comstock Community Center on the morning of Friday, Dec. 11.
Further details, including how to sign up and register ahead of time, are still forthcoming, and Vanderslice said she’ll provide more information in her Wednesday evening update.
Testing will be available for any resident aged 6–months and older. A doctor’s order will not be required to obtain a test.
The cost for a test is $90, a fee the testing “vendor” will collect at the time of preregistration. However, insurance will not be accepted, and anyone seeking a test will have to pay for it out-of-pocket. “Unfortunately, none of the vendors we spoke with, that were willing to perform onsite testing, accept insurance,” Vanderslice wrote.
In order for the event to proceed, the town must have 250 participants registered by Monday, Dec. 7 at noon.
Wilton’s New Cases
The State Department of Public Health (DPH) reported four new cases for Wilton on Tuesday, Dec. 1, which brings the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 470. Statewide there were 1,459 new one-day cases, with a test positivity rate of 5.88%; Connecticut’s overall tally so far is 118,754 cases YTD.
Hospitalizations continued to increase, with 54 new COVID patient admissions. There are now 1,152 patients hospitalized in CT, 346 of them in Fairfield County.
There were also 20 new deaths reported Tuesday, bringing the total number of fatalities statewide to 5,040.
Cases newly known to Wilton’s Health Department ranged in age from 20 to 67. Approximately 39% of Wilton residents have had a reported COVID-19 test. Of those residents, 6.5% had a positive test result.
The following chart shows the distribution of cases by age for the last three 7-day periods.
Vaccines Update
According to Vanderslice, the Governor announced Tuesday that the state expects to receive 40,000 initial vaccines on Dec. 14. Those first doses will be given to medical workers and nursing home residents. She added that town officials are still awaiting details from the State DPH on any role Wilton’s Health Department will have in distributing vaccines.
We agree with yesterday’s comment. Covid testing should be available to ALL individuals, and cost should never be a barrier–whether an individual does not have insurance or does have insurance coverage or at any income level. Setting up a testing site in Wilton that is available to only those individuals and families who can afford it sends a message of exclusivity related to income inequality. We believe that most Wilton residents would not agree to this and would prefer a testing station that offered cost options and public health solutions available to everyone–whether they live in Wilton or not. We are disappointed that Wilton has chosen to offer testing with cost as a barrier to access. Covid free and insurance covered testing does exist in the area and more research should be done.