Stamford mayor sounds the alarm on increasing COVID-19 cases
STAMFORD — For the third week in a row, Mayor David Martin urged caution in the community.
“We are moving in the wrong direction, I’m sorry to say,” Martin said during his weekly COVID-19 update conference. “I don’t mean to be an alarmist.”
Cases statewide have jumped 84 percent in the last three weeks. In Stamford, Martin reported a 71 percent rise in cases during the same time frame.
Stamford counted approximately 56 cases per day in the last seven days, but that number has steadily been rising for the last month.
Martin reported 47 new COVID-19 the week prior, according to his March 23 update. Two weeks prior, the city saw about 32 new cases per day.
The uptick in COVID cases could also mean an uptick in hospitalizations at Stamford Health.
“Hospitalizations tend to follow cases by one to two weeks,” Martin added. “That rise in cases should give us pause that we’re going to see a rise in hospitalizations.”
The coronavirus at Stamford Health remains relatively low still, with 22 people receiving inpatient care. But Martin said even that might not last. He pulled open a graph of the city’s hospitalization rate to illustrate.
“As you can see, the trend line has been decidedly down, which is highly favorable,” the mayor said while dragging his cursor across the computer screen. A bright red circle appeared around the last two data points.
“But the last point is up again. And although this might be a statistical aberration … nonetheless, this is part of the overall trend we see in Connecticut.”
The city reported only two patients in the ICU. One person died of COVID-19 in Stamford in the last week.
Even with rising cases, city officials have made moves to inch toward normalcy as more and more people get vaccinate. About 24 percent of Stamford’s population has recieved at least one vaccine dose, according to state data. By comparison, 43.1 percent of Connecticut residents have recieved at least a first dose.
Elementary and middle school students at Stamford Public Schools have already returned to in-person classes. High school students can return April 19, one week after the district’s spring break.
The school district also announced that seniors at its three high schools could get vaccinated April 17 or 18 at Community Health Center’s drive-thru clinic.
The idea of spring break travel for parents and families prompted Martin to give the community one last virus-related warning for the week, aside from his usual reminders to wear a mask and socially distance whenever possible.
“I urge you to be particularly cautious. This idea that we can now travel freely is going to be just another boomerang,” he said. “Bring back good memories if you’re going to travel, but don’t bring back the virus.”