Following the executive order issued in New York state on Monday establishing fines for individuals who are not wearing face covering on all Metro-North property, the State of Connecticut issued a similar order on Tuesday, Sept. 15. — an announcement from Metro-North
And although many of our customers are protecting themselves and others by wearing masks, now those who are not may receive a fine of $100 while traveling in Connecticut. The new Connecticut State Executive order means if you aren’t wearing a mask, or if your face covering doesn’t properly cover both your nose and your mouth, you may be barred from entering or from remaining on Metro-North property, including being removed from trains and stations by MTA or Connecticut Police. You can also be subject to a $100 fine.
This year the Darien YMCA is offering two Fall sessions, and registration is ongoing for programs that help keep youth and adults keep active, stay healthy, and maintain higher spirits through the tough times brought on by the pandemic. The Y’s programs include ways to practice wellness, offerings for children and youths that help keep them fit, and classes tailored for people with special needs. Session dates for Fall Session 1: Aug. 31 to Oct. 12 and for Fall Session 2: Oct.
A free online educational course for parents and family caregivers of children and young adults aged 21 or younger will soon be offered by the Southwest Connecticut Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. — an announcement from NAMI Southwest CT
The six-session course starts Oct. 8 and is open to those helping care for children and adults, ages 21 or younger who are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition or who have already been diagnosed. The NAMI Basics course will be held on Thursday mornings, from 9 to 11:45 a.m., beginning Thursday Oct. 8, 2020.
New Canaan has a household hazardous waste collection day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12 (two Saturdays away), and Darien residents are welcome there. The event takes place outside the New Canaan Wastewater Treatment Plant at 394 Main St. — Information here is from the public works web page of the New Canaan town government website. Darien residents are also welcome at household hazardous waste collection events in Westport on Oct.
Patients receive medical care, including COVID-19 testing, at an Americares and VIDA Perú mobile clinic in Lima, Peru, on Aug. 29. Photo by Angela Ponce/Americares. Stamford-based Americares is providing “surge” medical support in Peruvian health facilities overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The health-focused relief and development organization is dispatching medical personnel, all of which are locally based and have experience working within the health system, to health centers in Lambayeque, Lima and Piura to meet the increase in demand for care and provide the struggling health system with some relief as the coronavirus pushes health center capacity to the brink.
STAR, Inc., Lighting the Way is launching an expanded, multi-lingual program for children experiencing, or at risk of, developmental delays. The enhanced program, generously supported in part by The Community Fund of Darien, New Canaan Community Foundation and other generous grants, expands services from birth through age 5, with additional service options for children up to age 8. — an announcement from Star, Inc., Lighting the Way
The goal of the program is to assist families throughout the preschool years and beyond by strengthening the continuity of therapy and teaching that will benefit families with basic short-term needs as well as those with greater challenges. Likewise, to be able to serve all income levels, STAR is an approved provider accepting Medicaid, most medical insurances and private pay. STAR offers developmental evaluations, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and special education.
To help families and students during the transition into a new school year, the Darien YMCA has developed the “Y Hybrid Learning Lab” for elementary school students in town. The Learning Lab is a safe and structured environment at the Y that will allow students to attend virtual classes and have peer interaction under the supervision of YMCA staff and volunteers as the district follows a Hybrid Model in September. — an announcement from the Darien YMCA
The Y Learning Lab will operate from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Hindley, Tokeneke and Royle Schools and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for Holmes and Ox Ridge, which coincides with their regular school hours. Students will be grouped with similar grades with a maximum of 16 students per group, as per state guidelines. Each group will be separated from other groups.
Here’s how Darien restaurants and other food-serving places fared in the latest inspection reports, released Thursday by the Darien Health Department. The department on Thursday released five reports of inspection visits from Feb. 14 to March 7. Of those, three inspections resulted in a “B” rating and two more received an “A.” No establishment was rated “C.”
Two food-serving establishments in Darien received a “C” rating, the worst grade in town Health Department’s A/B/C ratings system, in the inspection reports released Thursday by the Darien Health Department. The department released health inspection reports for nine food-serving establishments on Thursday for inspections that took place from Aug. 8 to 15 (the recent power outages reduced the number of inspections that could be done). Four inspections resulted in an “A” rating and three others received a “B.” Keep in mind that a food-serving establishment with a history of good ratings may occasionally get a poor inspection rating, occasionally the best do, and every restaurant normally gets a few things wrong.
Darien recently experienced town-wide power outages during Tropical Storm Isaias and a busy hurricane season is predicted for 2020. Darien Human Services is urging all residents to be prepared and is reaching out to seniors and individuals with disabilities or serious medical conditions. — an announcement from the Darien Human Services Department
The staff of Darien Human Services maintains an Emergency Call List with the names of vulnerable seniors and disabled individuals to contact prior to and after a storm or town-wide emergency. The staff will provide reassurance and a wellness check and will also inform residents of resources available in the community such as Emergency Shelters and Cooling or Charging Centers. It is imperative that residents who are vulnerable, or have medical conditions that might make them vulnerable during an emergency, notify Darien Human Services so their name can be added to our list.
Darien schools will open Sept. 3 and 4, with students going to school two days a week and being taught online for other days, schools Superintendent Alan Addley told the Board of Education on Monday night. Then, Addley said, on Sept. 29, about three weeks later, the schools will be open “full-time,” with students going five days a week. Fridays will be half days throughout the school year, with students learning remotely, on-line.
Here’s how Darien restaurants and other food-serving places fared in the latest inspection reports, released Thursday by the Darien Health Department. The department on Thursday released seven reports of inspection visits from July 28 to Aug. 1. Of those, two inspections resulted in a “B” rating and five more received an “A.” No establishment was rated “C.”
One restaurant in Darien received a “C” rating, the worst grade in town Health Department’s A/B/C ratings system, in the inspection reports released recently by the Darien Health Department. The department released 20 health inspection reports for food-serving establishments for inspections that took place from July 10 to July 29. Darienite.com also found two inspections for Woodway Country Club (one for the pool snack bar). Eight inspections resulted in an “A” rating and nine others received a “B.” Keep in mind that a food-serving establishment with a history of good ratings may occasionally get a poor inspection rating, occasionally the best do, and every restaurant normally gets a few things wrong.
Regular town health inspections at food-serving establishments have restarted with a bang (actually three of them) with one Darien restaurant getting a “C” rating, and then another one and another — a total of three times in the 14 days from June 23 to July 7. The rating is the worst grade in the town Health Department’s A/B/C ratings system. The inspections had been suspended for months as the Health Department adopted a different set of procedures to help and monitor food-serving establishments for the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department released health inspection reports for 11 food-serving establishments on Thursday for inspections that took place from June 23 to July 7. Six inspections resulted in an “A” rating and four others received a “B.”
Starting Friday, Darien’s COVID-19 drive-through testing site will be at the Leroy West parking lot, at the corner of Leroy and West avenues near Darien Railroad Station, the town government has announced. The testing site had to be moved from the Darien High School parking lot because the school is getting ready for the upcoming school year, according to the announcement. Here’s the announcement sent out by the Darien Health Department:
In an effort to provide a much needed service to residents, the Town of Darien has partnered with Murphy Medical Associates of Greenwich to offer COVID-19 testing at a drive thru clinic in Darien. Over the past three months, this clinic, located at the high school, has safely tested hundreds of residents and provided critical information in understanding the extent of infection so important in these days of the coronavirus pandemic. While we have had great success with the location on high school property, the clinic needs to be relocated because expanded public use of school grounds is about to begin.
This week’s news and links on the COVID-19 pandemic for Darien, as they come in:
LATEST UPDATES: Darien Library reopening postponed to July 6 (due to lack of protective equipment) || State’s youth employment funding expanded with federal CARES Act funds
||Governor’s Tuesday COVID-19 update: 16 states now on quarantine list for CT, NY, NJ; continuing education classes for plumbers and electricians can be done online; different types of healthcare providers can now get funding from Coronavirus Relief Fund already used for nursing homes
See also:
LATEST DARIEN COVID-19 NEWS: Continual Updates:
June 22 to 28 || June 15 to 21 || June 7 to 14 || June 1 to 7 || May 25 to 31 || May 18 to 24 || May 11 to 17 || May 3 to 10 || April 27 to May 3 || April 20 to 26 || April 13 to 19 || April 5 to 12 || March 30 to April 5
THURSDAY: Governor’s COVID-19 Briefing
Thursday, July 2 — Gov. Ned Lamont provided the following updates as of 6 p.m.:
Data updates on testing in Connecticut
The following is a summary of the day-to-day newly reported data on cases, deaths, and tests in Connecticut. It is important to note that these newly reported updates include data that occurred over the last several days to a week. All data in this report are preliminary, and data for previous dates will be updated as new reports are received and data errors are corrected. NEW REPORTING SCHEDULE: Effective immediately, the State of Connecticut will continue to publish these COVID-19 metric reports five days a week, every Monday through Friday. The report that is issued every Monday will include combined data that was collected on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
