Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/healthy-living/page/4)
Exercise, outdoor activities and everything related to keeping healthy
As of Thursday there were 53 Covid patients in the Yale New Haven Health System’s five hospitals. That is five times the number there were two weeks ago. Of those, 10 patients are in the ICU. Five are on ventilators. Two weeks ago there was one patient in the ICU and none were on ventilators.
Mosquitos with West Nile Virus have been found in Darien for the first time this year, the Darien Health Department announced Tuesday. The virus has been found in Darien mosquitoes every summer over the past 10 years. The virus was found in tests done by the state Public Health Department’s Mosquito Management Program and reported to the town Health Department. Between the time mosquitos are collected in the two trap locations in town, it takes about a week for the test results to come in, the announcement said. Along with West Nile virus, the mosquitos are also tested for Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEE) and Zika. The mosquito trapping and testing program, coordinated by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), began in June and continues through October.
Despite promises to keep their passengers safe during the pandemic, data from Metro-North Police shows that not a single citation was issued to violators of the facemask rule on the commuter railroad in the last nine months. — an announcement from The Commuter Action Group
“Kudos to CTExaminer.com reporter Brendan Crowley for his FOI request for this
data, filed in late May,” said Jim Cameron of The Commuter Action Group. “As an advocate for riders’ interest I’ve heard almost daily reports of unmasked riders on trains… reported details to the railroad and seen no action taken. This data confirms their ‘safety measures’ were a sham.”
As the CTExaminer reported today:
Transit workers have issued 38 summons for refusing to wear a mask on
public transit since MTA instituted fines on Sept. 14, 2020 — that number
includes riders on New York City subways and buses, and the Long Island
Railroad Since the beginning of 2020, MTA reported that it had issued 772
citations on Metro-North trains, but none for failing to wear masks.
How many of us have dreamed of having our own home? How many want that home located in our home town, where we know people, we know the shopkeepers and the street signs, and where people know our name? — an announcement from STAR, Inc., Lighting the Way
For many adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), that’s not only their dream, it’s their reality, thanks to a program from the state Department of Developmental Disabilities called Individualized Home Supports. Here’s how several people in Darien and nearby communities were helped by the program:
Charlie, at Whole Foods in Darien
There is hardly a customer at Whole Foods in Darien who is an unfamiliar face to Charlie, who has worked there for over six years. In a job that makes him beam with pride, he says: “Everybody knows me […] I get to be outside on my own helping and greeting people, not a lot of bosses, and I just do what I gotta do!”
To get to work each day, Charlie walks from his apartment in his hometown of Norwalk to the East Norwalk Metro North station, where he boards the local train to Darien.
Abilis, a nonprofit that serves people with special needs and their families, will be expanding programs and services in Darien, starting with four programs in the areas of job training, life skills, employment and housing. — an announcement from Abilis
Abilis is now accepting applications for two programs: Abilis LEAP Transitions Program, which helps people acquire life skills, as well as Project SEARCH, a 10-month internship at the Darien YMCA to provide job training. Two other programs are still in the works: Sometime later this year Abilis will open Darien Library Café. Later this summer and early fall, the organization will run the supportive living program for 12 new, large studio apartments on East Lane, as part of the Corbin District project. “Having these four initial Abilis programs, and more to come, in the Darien community, will only strengthen our ability to help more individuals with disabilities or special needs,” said Amy Montimurro, CEO and president of Abilis.
Darien’s regular vaccine clinic is closing on June 3. If you’re vaccinated, you don’t need a mask when you’re in Town Hall. Town boards and commissions will shift to in-person meetings in June. First Selectman Jayme Stevenson made these points — each of them reflecting a pandemic threat that’s shrunk in this town — in her regular Code Red message Thursday night. As if to underline the theme, she said this will be her last regular update.
In a webinar Tuesday morning, Community Mindfulness Project will share simple techniques that people who care for others can use to support themselves emotionally as they do that caregiving. — an announcement from Darien Library
When we witness the struggles or pain of others, the pain centers in our brain light up as if we were experiencing that same pain. This can be very depleting. When we convert empathy (the witnessing and taking on of another’s pain) into compassion, we trigger a physiological response that actually helps us to feel more resilient and resourced. As they say on an airplane, it’s important to put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.
Students must wear masks in school buildings for the rest of the school year, as state and federal guidelines state, Darien Superintendent of Schools Alan Addley told parents and staff in an email late Friday afternoon. But students and staff are allowed to go maskless outside on school grounds, he said. Addley wrote (boldface in original): “[E]ffective immediately, masks are no longer required for staff and students while outdoors or on school grounds. Masks will still be required to be worn on buses. For all other events taking place outdoors and on school property, masks are no longer required, regardless of vaccination status.” Addley made clear that the school district is following “updated guidance” from the CDC, state Department of Public Health and state Department of Education on the in-door rule.
Two thirds of Darien residents eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines have received at least one dose, and the town positivity rate for the coronavirus is 0.019%, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said in her regular pandemic update message on Thursday. In a separate Darien COVID-19 update, this one for families of students, school district Nursing Director Alicia Casucci had an important tip for parents taking their children to the Lord & Taylor vaccine site: You only need to register once, even if the people at the vaccine site tell you otherwise. Here are the full texts of the two messages:
First Selectman’s Update
(From a 5:56 p.m. email)
Good evening. This is First Selectman Jayme Stevenson with a COVID-19 update for Thursday, May 20. Another very positive week for our town.
The Darien Department of Public Works is organizing the town’s annual Household Hazardous Waste Day to be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, June 5 at the Noroton Heights Train Station. — This article is based on an announcement from the Darien Department of Public Works
The event gives you an opportunity to get rid of toxic, sometimes poisonous household items you don’t want that could be a hazard to you and your family members, especially children. And it lets you do it in a safe way that doesn’t hurt the environment, making it a better alternative to putting it in the trash, which would go to an incinerator that puts it into the air; flushing it down the toilet, which sends it to Long Island Sound; or pouring into the soil on your property. If you’re going to the drop-off site on the train station’s south parking lot (nearest the tracks leading away from New York City), you need to use the entrance at Hollow Tree Ridge Road. After driving through and dropping off your items, you leave the station using Ledge Road, near Post 53.
No new COVID-19 cases have been found in tests of any students, teachers or other staff in the Darien school district, Superintendent Alan Addley reported to parents on Friday — but masks will still need to be worn in schools, he said. State education and public health officials continue to mandate masks in schools, and Darien must follow their directives, Addley said in his regular email to parents and staff. First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, in her regular COVID-19 Code Red message to the town, also noted the continued state mandate on masks for schools and also for municipal offices. She also said that on May 19 the state was dropping any requirements for masking outdoors and mandates that businesses must require masks indoors. “Masks must still be worn on public transportation, in doctor’s offices hospitals and nursing homes,” she said.
Updated, 6:45 a.m., Wednesday:
Same-day registrations for COVID-19 vaccines and walk-in vaccination visits are unlikely because of the expected new demand for shots, now that children ages 12 to 15 are eligible for them, a health official has told Darien parents. But in her email to Darien school district parents late Tuesday night, Darien schools Nursing Director Alicia Cassucci also offered links to Web pages where parents can register for nearby vaccination sites. “We will continue to send more information about clinics as we hear about vaccine clinics in our area,” Cassucci wrote in the email received by Darienite.com at 9:59 p.m., Tuesday. Full Text of Cassucci’s Message
Good evening Darien Families,
We have just received more information and links for the Community Health Center Pfizer COVID vaccine clinics being held at the Lord & Taylor Vaccine Site in Stamford. The registration links are below. Given the anticipated demand at the opening of this age group it is unlikely there will be same day registrations or walk-in appointments available.
Kids from 10-to-14 years old who are brothers and sisters of someone who has a disability are invited to attend an online “Sibshops” workshop from 5 to 6:30 Wednesday, May 19. Sibshops are high-spirited and fun workshops combining recreation, discussion and information. Note that registration fills up fast, according to the organizer. — an announcement from Abilis
The event is organized by Greenwich-based Abilis, which serves those with disabilities in Darien and other towns, primarily in southwest Fairfield County. It will take place on Zoom.
First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, in her latest pandemic update Thursday, reported COVID-19 was found in only two-thirds of a percent of all COVID-19 tests of town residents over the past two-weeks. And there wasn’t a single case in the past week. She was careful in describing how good the shrinkage in the coronavirus is, saying she’s “very pleased and cautiously optimistic” about the low numbers. Stevenson also provided a list of vaccine providers. Her full message is attached, along with the town Health Department’s weekly report.
It’s time you start making time for yourself! Take a break from your busy schedule and endless to-do lists and join Mountainside Treatment Centers Saturday, May 22 for three hours of wellness, fun, and community. This free event, while created for individuals in recovery, is appropriate and open to everyone. — an announcement from Mountainside Treatment Centers
Mountainside addiction treatment centers, which has an office in Wilton, rounded up a team of experts to help you discover new passions, let go of whatever is holding you back, and gain practical and tangible ways to change your life. The series of workshops from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. are designed to help you learn how to save money to make that dream vacation happen or find new ways to manage stress.