Forum gives residents answers on reopening
GREENWICH — When it comes to reopening the community in the era of the coronavirus crisis, the reason for moving slowly is clear, a top state official told Greenwich residents during a virtual question-and-answer session.
“We all know with this virus that once the genie is out of the bottle, you can’t put it back in,” Commissioner David Lehman, of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said on a Zoom call on Friday with Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo and state Rep. Harry Arora, R-151.
“So, we would rather go carefully and slowly than have a situation where you need to shut everything down again,” Lehman said of mitigating the spread of the coronavirus.
For Camillo, it was his second consecutive day of leading conversations on Zoom and answering questions from town residents, who are confused and concerned about the state’s first phase of reopening. On Thursday, he held a dialogue with senior citizens.
By the end of Friday’s fastpaced discussion, many questions remained unanswered due to a lack of time. For the most part, the discourse centered on addressing the most frequently asked questions. Arora hosted the conversation and read questions from the community to Camillo and Lehman.
“Hospitalizations have dropped, (since) April 18, from over 2,000 to around 600, and the rate of infections has slowed down,” Arora read a submitted question. “What is the reasoning, and process behind such a slow rate of opening, and leaving four to five weeks between these (reopening) phases.”
One reason is that the state is lagging far behind in capacity for testing for the virus, Lehman said. An appropriate metric would be 100,000 tests per week, he said, but the state is at a pace to testing 55,000 to 60,000 people in that timeframe.
Before moving forward, state leaders must ensure there’s enough testing, he said.
The state mandates a fourweek interval between reopening phases, because it can take several weeks to identify a potential spike in coronavirus cases, Lehman said.
Residents also asked about the continued closure of youth activities, even as health officials report children are among the least-affected populations for the coronavirus. Many community members were confused spas, tattoo shops and social clubs will be able to reopen in the state on June 20 while many youth establishments cannot.
Lehman said there’s been extensive discussion about youth recreation among state leaders. Even if children are spread 10 to 15 feet apart while swimming, for example, state leaders felt they could still transmit the coronavirus, he said.
Also, about 25 percent to 30 percent of children are asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers and can expose their older adult family members as well as teachers and youth program leaders, Lehman said.
And, multisystem inflammatory syndrome — a new illness — is also presenting in children with COVID-19, and officials are not sure how prevalent the condition is, he said.
While it’s important to get children back into recreational activities, for their physical and mental health, state leaders can’t yet ensure that children would be safe, Lehman said.
As most residents remain mostly shuttered at home, Camillo said he encourages individuals to visit businesses as they reopen while following social distancing guidelines and wearing a mask. The rules are imperative while in close proximity to other people, he said.
Camillo said he has received an influx of complaints from town residents, who report others are not following the mask rule.
And while he understands that many town residents are restless and frustrated with the reopening process, he said, the current structure is in place for a reason: “We don’t want people to get sick,” Camillo said.
Since the outbreak began, 795 Greenwich residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 46 have died, as of last week.
“I’ve lost friends to this virus — and relatives — and they’re not all elderly,” he said.
“So, for people to say this is overkill — no, it’s not,” Camillo continued. “And you wouldn’t be saying that, if someone close to you had passed away.”