This page will feature shorter news on the COVID-19 situation, as they come in, including links to coverage and advice, from Wednesday to Saturday, March 18 to 21. If this web page proves useful, we’ll publish a similar page on Sunday with that week’s dates:
Items will be added to this page as they come in, with the latest on top (email announcements or tips to Dave@Darienite.Com):
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18
COVID-19 Articles for Wednesday
—If You Need Social Services During the COVID-19 Epidemic: What’s the Same, What’s Changed
—Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing at Darien Town Hall Starts Thursday Afternoon; UPDATE: CANCELED: Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing at Darien Town Hall Won’t Be Happening
—Grieb’s Pharmacy Says Store Now Closed to Customers — Instead: Outside Pickups and Deliveries
—How Darien Supermarkets Are Helping Vulnerable Shoppers During the COVID-19 Epidemic
—Eateries Allowed Banners and Sandwich Board Signs in the COVID-19 Era
Does This Make You Feel More Safe?
Only twice a day? A “thorough cleaning” only once every third day?
On the other hand … maybe that frequency isn’t so bad, considering:
If You Own or Run a Darien Business, Use Darien Chamber’s Announcements Web Page
You don’t have to be a member of the Darien Chamber of Commerce to use a special web page its setting up to make announcements about changes in your hours or business practices.
Here’s a brief announcement today from the chamber:
- The DCC website will has a special page devoted to COVID-19 updates on Darien businesses that are modifying their hours or business practices.
- Please submit your entry. This is available to both members and non-members as a chamber service to Darien.
You can submit your announcement by clicking on this link. The chamber’s announcement provided a password in its email to members, but we’re not going to republish it now. Contact the chamber Thursday morning if you want it.
CT Applies to Feds for Waiver on Standardized Testing Mandate
From the governor’s 6:32 p.m. news release:
The State Department of Education (SDE) is seeking a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education for the standardized testing requirements each school is required to complete annually. […]
In addition, the agency is continuing to develop resources that best meet the needs of school districts in their efforts to support student learning while classes remain canceled. On Tuesday, SDE [state Department of Education] compiled and disseminated a combination of print and digital resources designed to engage students in grade PK-12 and support their continued learning during this emergency period.
The department is engaging providers of content to obtain materials, utilizing RESC [regional educational service centers] partners as repositories for resources, exemplars, and material that will be available to all districts.
CT Unemployment Claims Have Suddenly Spiked 20-Fold
From the governor’s 6:32 p.m. news release:
“The Connecticut Department of Labor has closed its main office in Wethersfield and all of the American Jobs Centers throughout the state to in-person visits from the general public effective immediately. The agency is encouraging people to utilize their online services, which can be found by visiting its website at www.ctdol.state.ct.us.
“The department has been processing nearly 20 times their normal daily amount of unemployment insurance claims (around 10,000 per day, as opposed to about 500 per day).”
$17.2 Million in State Aid to Cities, Towns to Come a Little Early
From the governor’s 6:32 p.m. news release:
To provide towns and cities with some financial assistance during this emergency period, Governor Lamont today ordered the Office of Policy and Management to release to all municipalities in the state the second of three annual payments from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund in advance of the statutory payment date.
The FY2020 state budget appropriated $51,472,796 for this fund, and the related statutory provisions regarding the grants to municipalities requires them to be distributed in three separate payments throughout the year — by Jan. 1, April 1 and June 30. The second payment — due in April — totals $17,157,596.35. Municipalities should anticipate receiving this payment no later than Monday, March 23.
Guidance for Restaurants on the State’s No-Eating-In Mandate
From the governor’s 6:32 p.m. news release:
To help provide additional guidance to restaurants and bars about Executive Order No. 7D, which was issued on Monday and limits these establishments to take-out and delivery services only, Governor Lamont provided the following information:
- These establishments are permitted to continue operating during the pandemic, however they cannot sell alcohol, and any food that is served at these establishments must be for take-out and delivery only, meaning that the food cannot be consumed on-premises.
- They can still allow customers inside of their buildings to place orders and pick up the food to be taken out and consumed at a different location.
- They can still permit customers to use the restrooms as they normally would.
In addition, the order does not require onsite workplace cafeterias to close or stop serving food. Employees in general are encouraged to bring their own meals to work if possible rather than using such facilities. To the extent feasible, employers are encouraged to permit or require employees who order food at workplace cafeterias to eat those meals in private work spaces.
If employers permit employees to eat food within workplace cafeterias, they should implement appropriate social distancing measures and make every effort to minimize the number of people congregating within a confined space or area.
Workplace cafeterias should also stop or limit self-serve food and drinks such as:
- Buffets and salad bars
- Soups
- Fountain sodas
- Coffee
- Reusable food and drink containers
Finally, the order does not apply to food trucks, however they are encouraged to practice safe social distancing.
IN ADDITION, the news release says about Farmers Markets:
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture delivered communications this morning affirming that farmers’ markets and farm stands in Connecticut can remain open during the civic preparedness and public health emergency. These entities are not covered by the executive order on restaurants the governor issued earlier this week.
State Requests Surgical Masks, Respirators, Etc. for Medical Personnel from National Stockpile
Amid concerns that the expected surge in COVID-19 patients will overwhelm hospitals in upcoming weeks or months, the state Department of Public Health is requesting numerous supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile.
“The first shipment is expected to be received in the coming days,” according to a 6:32 p.m. news release from Gov. Ned Lamont’s office (and related to his 4:30 p.m. daily public briefing). Here’s what the DPH is asking for:
The news release neither states if the requested amounts are enough for the state, nor whether or not the full amounts of the request will be sent.
From the news release (the acronym “PPE,” below, stands for “personal protective equipment):
“Once received these resources will be distributed on a priority basis to ensure medical providers, hospitals, emergency medical responders (including first responders who provide emergency medical response), and other stakeholders can continue to provide essential services.
“A distribution strategy has been developed through existing channels utilizing the Connecticut National Guard and other partners. The Department of Public Health in collaboration with partner agencies is currently in the process of developing an algorithm to identify the level and urgency of all requests to ensure the PPE supplies we receive are appropriately conserved and allocated.
“Governor Lamont and state officials are strongly urging providers and users of PPE to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conserve PPE already on hand.”
Darien Schools Shifting from Supplemental to Replacement eLearning
Here’s an email from Darien High School Principal Ellen Dunn (at 4:02 p.m.) to students about the shift from supplemental learning to, by this Monday, a program meant to replace regular classroom learning as much as possible with the remote learning “eLearning” program:
DHS Principal Ellen Dunn
Dear Students,
This has truly been an unprecedented time and we are all feeling the loss of our DHS home. Our challenge is to recreate our community through an e-learning environment that connects us and continues to engage us each day. Everyone should have received a correspondence from Dr. Addley earlier today explaining how we are shifting from an enrichment learning model to a more structured model, beginning on Monday, March 23. Below you will find the schedule we will follow starting on Monday.
We restructured the schedule for several reasons. We believe longer periods make more sense in this circumstance, as they provide benefits to both you and your teachers. The every-other-day block schedule allows you extra time for all your assignments, especially long-term assignments and project-based learning opportunities. It will also create flexibility for you, allowing you to successfully adjust to an e-learning environment. In addition, it will allow your teachers the ability to provide new content, review, work with you, and assess your understanding in a variety of creative ways. Furthermore, as teachers are also experiencing tremendous changes to instructional design, this puts them in a position to prepare lessons together and collaborate more effectively in creating their e-lessons, which will be less frequent but more in depth.
We met with all of your teachers this morning, and they are busy preparing for next week. They miss you and they are eager to be with you again as we dive into this together. There will be many questions in the days ahead, and it is difficult to anticipate all of them until we begin to experience this new environment. We will need to agree to be patient with one another, as we do not have all the answers. If anyone can do this well, we can!
Beginning on Monday, we will send an email each morning sharing good news, announcements, information and the answers to questions that have come up. Look for this Blue Wave update by 7:30 each morning. Many of you are concerned about how assessments will be given and how they will be evaluated. We understand those concerns but need some time to assess our instructional models before we can assess your learning. We promise to include you in those conversations and to be clear about our expectations of you at every step. Please reach out to us if you have questions. We will be creating forums for conversation with the administration and inviting your participation in these virtual meetings! Can’t wait to see you there! Seniors, we will begin with you because so much is changing for you right now. You are in our thoughts every day.
Fondly, Mrs. Dunn
Department of Great Ideas
Image from Twitter
Beautiful
Stamford Symphony Cancels Entire Rest of Season
Stamford Symphony announced in an email Wednesday afternoon: “[T]he Palace Theatre is rescheduling all events through the month of April, therefore all our concerts for the rest of the season will not take place. This includes concerts on March 21 & 22, April 18 & 19 and May 3.”
The symphony organization previously announced the cancellation of the March concerts.
Here’s a long excerpt from the rest of the announcement:
“Music provides comfort in trying times. Stamford Symphony is hard at work to create a digital space with a wide range of content that we can share on our Facebook page, via emails and on our website. Some ideas we are working on:
- Messages from Michael Stern and our musicians
- Video links to the music that we will not be able to play in March, April and May
- Talks about music and composers by our musicians
And other great virtual programming that we will roll out in the future.
If you have tickets to March, April and May concerts, you may choose to do one of the following:
- Hold onto your ticket as it will be valid for a concert that we hope to reschedule.
- Support your Stamford Symphony by donating your ticket back. By doing this, you will be helping limit the financial impact to the organization and helping our musicians weather this difficult time. We will provide you with a receipt for tax purposes.
- Turn your ticket into a gift card and share it with friends! Our loyal concertgoers are our best marketing tool! All gift card requests need to be made by June 15th.
- Request a refund. All refund requests need to be made by June 15th.
IRS, State Extend 2019 Tax PAYMENT Deadline by 90 Days
The Darien Chamber of Commerce has been sending out frequent emails to members about various government changes affecting businesses. Here’s an announcement that went out late Wednesday morning that affects more than businesses:
Chamber member-Bob Carroll, CPA and Tax Attorney, wanted to share this with you all. He has received many calls for clarification. Thanks to Bob for sending us this information!
“The IRS has announced an automatic 90-day deferral for paying 2019 taxes. This deferral is only for making payments. It does not permit delayed filing. Taxpayers must still file their tax returns by April 15 to benefit from this interest free and penalty free payment deferral opportunity.
“The Connecticut Department of Revenue is allowing the same payment deferral as the IRS for individual tax returns. For Connecticut businesses, the filing and payment deadline has been extended to June 15.
“Tax refunds will be made in the same timely manner as always for all filed tax returns.
“If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact Darien based tax attorney and CPA Bob Carroll at 917-453-4488.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bob Carroll just got publicity for his business by being helpful with information to chamber members, and Darienite.com is happy to help his business (but mostly to help our readers) by passing on the information. If YOU have a business and have an important announcement about it, feel free to share it with Darienite.com’s readers by emailing Dave@Darienite.Com. If you join the Darien Chamber of Commerce, you’ll get their announcements directly.
Darien Boy Scouts Annual Scout Cabin Tag Sale Postponed
Rebecca Martorella of Darien Boy Scouts (and the Darien Times) today, March 18, sent Darienite.com this announcement, dated March 11:
“The Darien Scouts Tag Sale originally scheduled for Sunday, May 3rd will be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is our hope to reschedule for later in the year so please remember to continue to collect your household items for donation and stay tuned for more information. Details also available at www.darienscouts.org.
“Also note that Darien Scouts takes donations of cars and vehicles all year long. If you have a car, boat, motorcycle or other vehicle in any condition that you want to donate, please contact us at DarienScoutsCars@gmail.com. Donations may be tax deductible and all proceeds go directly to Darien Scouting.”
Darien Police Drop Non-criminal Fingerprinting
An announcement from Darien Police:
“Per Governor Lamont’s Executive Order No. 7E, as of March 17, 2020 the Darien Police Department has suspended civilian fingerprinting (non-criminal) until further notice. Our Child Safety Seat Installation service remains suspended as well. This has been done in effort to ensure the health and well-being of our staff and residents. We will resume these services as soon as possible and thank you for your understanding and cooperation.”
New Canaan Residents Can Get Drive-Thru Testing
UPDATE 11:11 a.m: Shortly after this article and item was published, Darien announced its own testing service, provided by the same company. FURTHER UPDATE 8:37 p.m. Now Darien town government says the drive-thru tests in town have been canceled, with no explanation why (see web link for updated article).
New Canaan town government contracted with a private provider to test New Canaan residents for COVID-19. Darien residents can get drive-thru tests at three hospitals in lower Fairfield County. In order of nearness: Stamford Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, and Bridgeport Hospital.
Every drive-thru testing location in Connecticut requires a doctor’s prescription for the test before you drive up, so if you feel you need to get tested, get to your doctor first.
Here’s what Mike Handler, New Canaan’s emergency medical director, said yesterday about New Canaan’s drive-thru in one of his daily emails to town residents:
- With respect to testing, the New Canaan Department of Health, has contracted with Murphy Medical Associates to conduct FDA approved COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus testing. This testing will be done in accordance with CDC testing guidelines. Drive-thru testing for New Canaan residents only will commence on Friday, March 20th. Testing will be conducted by appointment only and with a prescription, which will be provided by Murphy Medical Group.
Dr. Matthew Cartter of the state Department of Public Health said yesterday that testing is simultaneously “important” but that importance has its limit (“it is not the answer”):
“I know you may be getting different messages when you turn on the TV at night. The head of World Health Organization said, ‘The answer to this is testing testing testing.’ Testing is important, but it is not the answer.”