CALM BEFORE THE STORM?
Stamford sees slight drop in COVID cases, officials expect worse to come
STAMFORD — Stamford officials warned residents to remain watchful of COVID-19 as the number of positive tests dropped off slightly after last week’s spike.
New data from the state Department of Public Health showed a dip in positive cases after the Thanksgiving weekend, but public health officials worry the results could represent a calm before the storm as they await a potential surge after the holiday.
“Maybe we’re pushing this back, but this is still at levels roughly twice what we were having last spring across the state of Connecticut,” said Mayor David Martin during the city’s now weekly COVID-19 update.
“This is obviously very, very serious.”
The 14-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the city spiked up to 80 cases-per-day during the week of Thanksgiving. Since then, the rate has hovered back toward 75 new cases a day, according to the new 14-day average.
The seven-day average for cases in the city showed more drastic fluctuation — just before the holiday, the city crept toward 95 new cases daily. The city is now averaging 58 new COVID-19 cases per
day, still up drastically from the warmer months.
Five residents died of coronavirus complications in the last week. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 210 Stamford residents have passed away because of the virus.
Statewide, COVID-19 numbers continue to trend upwards. The COVID-19 positivity rate jumped to 5.9 percent, according to data released by the state Department of Public Health on Tuesday. A week prior, the department reported a 4.9 percent positivity rate.
Despite some reprieve from the rising cases, Martin emphasized that every neighborhood in Stamford is on red alert per the state’s metrics.
North Stamford and Westover, two areas with slightly slower community spread prior to Thanksgiving, joined the rest of the city in being classified red zones in the last week. Waterside, the Cove and the West Side are averaging the highest number of daily positive cases.
Municipalities fall into the state’s “red zone” category if they have a daily average of 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus per 100,000 residents over a period of 14 days. All but a handful of the towns and cities in the state currently are considered red zones. Stamford, which was one of the hardest hit places in the state during the first wave of the pandemic, was reclassified a red zone in October. At the time it was one of four red municipalities in the state.
Much of this week’s update concentrated on testing, after some of the city’s test sites have experienced long wait times.
“If you were looking to get tested last week before Thanksgiving, you probably waited at least an hour and maybe up to fours hours in line to get tested,” said Laura Burwick, a special assistant to the mayor.
The city expects to remedy that problem with a smattering of location changes and new test sites popping up over the next week.
Optimus Health Care opened a testing facility at 805 Atlantic Street earlier in the week. Burwick expects the site to move to UConn Stamford’s campus before next week. Stamford-based laboratory Sema4 opened a pop-up testing site at Stamford High School to serve people between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
Nonprofit testing sites in Stamford are also getting an update. Community Health Centers plans to move its Fifth Street operation to Cove Island Park, and Family Centers will start testing at its Palmers Hill location.
Even with expanded testing capacity, testing in Stamford may become less accessible in the coming weeks. Some sites in Stamford provide free testing thanks to money from the state, said Burwick. That money will run out by the end of 2020, and insurance will be required at these locations come January.
The next Stamford COVID-19 update is scheduled for Tuesday Dec. 8 at 6 p.m.