Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters he thinks his emergency order mandating that masks be worn in schools should be extended past the Sept. 30 expiration date set by state legislators.
Now, according to WSHU Public Radio, State Senate President Martin Looney said he and other Democrats in the CT General Assembly will back Lamont’s request.
“After talking with the governor’s office and other legislative leaders we believe that the time-sensitive nature of taking action before Sept. 30 on the issue of extended executive powers is what we need to do.”
While the governor hasn’t specified how long he is considering extending the mask mandate, the CT Mirror reports that staff members in Lamont’s administration indicate it may be as long as 120 days, or until the legislature convenes again in February 2022.
In the meantime, Lamont is also considering a digital COVID-19 vaccine passport for residents to use in order to show proof of vaccination and gain entry to places where having been vaccinated is a requirement.
The Hartford Courant reported the governor is looking at a system being implemented in New York State. “In terms of [a] mandate, one of the things I’ve been talking to [chief operating officer] Josh Geballe about is … to make it easier for businesses, maybe we ought to have some sort of a validation system,” Lamont said. “The Excelsior is what they’re using in New York City, New York State, that would allow restaurants, bars … employers a little easier way to verify that people who say they’re vaccinated are vaccinated.”
Wilton Data
There have been 24 new COVID cases reported by the CT Department of Public Health (CT-DPH) in Wilton since the start of the current month (as of Sept. 14) — 10 in the last week. Worth noting is the difference in the number of cases diagnosed over the 4-day Labor Day period (9 cases) vs. this past weekend (2 cases), which may be part of a hoped-for waning of the Delta variant.
Sept. 3, 2021 1,308 2 Sept. 7, 2021 1,317 9 Sept. 8, 2021 1,318 1 Sept. 9, 2021 1,319 1 Sept. 10, 2021 1,322 3 Sept. 13, 2021 1,324 2 Sept. 14, 2021 1,327 3
Wilton’s test positivity rate also may be leveling off, after steadily rising since mid-July.
The CT-DPH publishes a weekly COVID-19 risk map based on a two-week rolling average case rate (per 100,000 people). The current Sept. 9 map (below) reflects data only through Sept. 4, but it shows Wilton at an elevated Orange risk surrounded by towns with lower risk levels (aside from Norwalk in Red).
GOOD Morning Wilton‘s more current data (as of Sept. 14) shows Wilton continues to remain in the orange risk category.
Wilton’s vaccination rates continue to remain high, although they do show signs of slowing down. Only 35 people received a first dose of the vaccine last week, compared to 62 the week before (a 44% drop); around the number (39) got a second dose last week, a 50% drop from the 78 second doses given the week before.
Since July 21, almost 500 people (497) started the vaccination process, and 638 became fully vaccinated.
In total, 78% of Wilton’s residents got a first dose, and 73% received a second shot. Of residents who are eligible to be vaccinated (age 12-and-older), 92.3% have had one shot, and 87% are fully immunized.
[Editor’s note: Percentages higher than 100% are possibly due to changes in census counts (the state uses total population figures calculated before the most recent census, which do not reflect current increases in population) as well as nursing home patients who may have permanent residency outside of Wilton, or college students who legally reside outside of Wilton but who received vaccines here over the summer.]
COVID-19 Vaccination Rates for Wilton Residents
(as of Sept. 8, 2021)
Age Group Number of people % First Dose Percent Change since last week 2nd Dose % Change since last week 12-17 2,114 11.5% 1,869 88.4% 12 1,722 81.5% 19 18-24 1,230 6.7% 1,268 103.1% 7 1,078 87.6% 1 25-44 3,178 17.3% 2,858 89.9% 7 2668 84% 10 45-64 6,127 33.4% 5,184 84.6% 5 4,992 81.5% 8 65+ 2,814 15.3% 3,093 109.9% 4 2,930 104.1% 1 <12 2,880 15.7% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A TOTAL 18,343 14,272 77.81% 35 13,390 73% 39
COVID-19 Vaccination Rates for Eligible Wilton Residents
(as of Sept. 8, 2021)
Age Group Number of residents First Dose Percent of population Second Dose Percent of population 12-17 2,114 1,869 88.41% 1,722 81.46% 18-24 1,230 1,268 103.09% 1,078 87.64% 25-44 3,178 2,858 89.93% 2,668 83.95% 45-64 6,127 5,184 84.61% 4,992 81.48% 65+ 2,814 3,093 109.91% 2,930 104.12% TOTAL 15463 14,272 92.3% 13,390 86.59%
The Wilton Public School district updates its COVID tracker daily. As of Tuesday, Sept. 14, there were four confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among students, with 30 students at Cider Mill quarantining after close contact. No teachers are positive or in quarantine.
