Norwalk surpasses 10,000 cases
City, residents reflect on lives lost and how to move forward
NORWALK — A little over a year after the city reported its first coronavirus case, Norwalk has surpassed 10,000 cases, a grim milestone shared by just six other municipalities throughout the state.
As of Friday, the number of confirmed positive cases stood at 10,008, according to state data. At least 10 percent of Norwalk residents have tested positive for the virus.
“It just goes to show how serious this pandemic is,” Mayor Harry Rilling said this week. “Unfortunately over 10 percent have our resident have contracted the virus. This is a trend nationwide.”
Norwalk has lost over 200 people to the virus, from a 21-year-old Center for Global Studies graduate to former city clerk and world-record-holding Senior Olympian Mary Roman.
Roman was the city’s third coronavirus-related death when she died on March 23. Her son, Craig
Roman of Granby, said he still hears from old friends in Norwalk about how much they miss her. The Romans are waiting to hold a memorial service until COVID restrictions are loosened, but almost a year after their mother’s death, they’re still waiting.
“A lot of our friends became like family,” Craig said. “Everyone always called her mom. We have a lot of friends that miss her. ... She deserves better than this. She deserves a proper send-off and to have all her friends and families come and say goodbye.”
While many Norwalkers may have recovered from the virus, others are left with lingering symptoms.
Allen Fedor, who contracted COVID last May, was in a coma for 47 days and had to be resuscitated three times while hospitalized. Now, nearly a year later, he’s still struggling with the aftermath of the disease. His joints are stiff, his breath is short and he struggles with his memory and exhaustion.
“Sometimes, I get home at 6 and I can barely crawl into bed, I’m so tired,” Fedor said. “And then sometimes it’s not bad and I can stay up until 10 o’clock . ... I’m trying to get back to normal. There’s still a bunch of stuff wrong, but it’s progressing. I talked to all these doctors and they don’t know if I’ll ever be normal again.”
Fedor has plans to be vaccinated and has been encouraging others in his family to do the same.
“My life was hell and it’s still pretty bad,” he said. “I feel like we’re moving forward into the right direction but people need to be aware and be safe. People still need to take it seriously.”
Of all his family members who got COVID, Fedor is the only one with lingering symptoms. Given their different experiences, Fedor wonders similarly why Norwalk was hit so hard
and if the city should reopen more while still exercising caution.
“What the right thing to do is, I don’t know. I just don’t know if it’s luck of the draw or whatever,” he said. “(The city) has done a good job on everything. What else could you do? Just lock us in our houses forever? It’s time to open it up and see what happens . ... There’s so many unknowns, maybe that’s just the way it’s supposed to go.”
Shortly after the city’s first COVID case was confirmed last March, Rilling declared a state of civil preparedness emergency in
Norwalk which allowed him to order the closing of hair, nail and tanning salons, barbershops, massage spas, tattoo parlor and body care/art shops on March 19, 2020, before these establishments were ordered to close statewide.
Norwalk has closely followed state guidelines regarding reopening and rolled back to reopening phase 2 in October when COVID cases spiked. The city has also followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the coronavirus, distributed personal protective equipment and been diligent about sanitizing businesses, Rilling said, adding he wouldn’t have done anything differently.
“We did probably as much or more testing as other places in surrounding areas,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with people adhering to the guidelines, socially distancing and wearing masks. It was a challenge. There’s no manual on how to do this. We were virtually flying the plane as we were building it. We did pretty much everything we possibly could, we did it early on and we did it responsibly.”
As the city handles newer developments like vaccine distribution and lifted capacity limits for restaurants and venues, some residents are still navigating through the grief the pandemic has brought.
While watching President Joe Biden’s speech at the Democratic National Convention this summer, Norwalk native Patrick Verel was struck by what the then-nominee said about grief: That the best way through it “is to find purpose.”
Just a few months before the convention, Verel had lost his 72-year-old father, John, to coronavirus. A Rowayton resident, John Verel was described as “a true son of Norwalk” and served as chairman of the Norwalk Conservation Commission and of the Rowayton Civic Association, and as treasurer of
Norwalk’s Sixth Taxing District during his time in the city.
In the year since his father’s death, Verel has taken Biden’s advice and followed in his father’s political footsteps. This last election cycle, he virtually canvassed for Biden and is now text banking with causes like Black Voters Matter.
“(Biden’s words) really, really shook me,” he said. “I took that to heart and really, really poured myself into (working for) campaigns in a way I hadn’t before. It’s something I felt very strongly about because I feel it does a service and honors my father.”
Verel has also made sure to share his father’s story with people in hopes they take the virus seriously. However, he said he has felt frustration as people continue to ignore science and COVID spreads, to the point that there have now been over 10,000 cases in his hometown.
“I found myself so thoroughly depressed when it came to second and third wave and I think that’s what drove me to get involved like this,” he said. “It was terrible to go through this — share the story and it had no impact on people’s behavior . ... It shook us all to our core in a way that I think we are still trying to do the best we can to reckon with.”