three Stamford Hospital physicians will answer questions from the public about the coronavirus in an online event Wednesday evening sponsored by Darien Library. The discussion starts at 6:30 p.m. You can register here for this online, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday event. It is expected to end by 8 p.m.
These will be among the topics covered during the event, according to the library announcement:
—What is the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic: variants, vaccinations, and more? —What are the latest developments in the treatment of cancer, heart disease, and other conditions? —What can you be doing right now to protect the health of your family?
Darien Health Department issued advice Tuesday morning to anyone who took the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, after reports of rare blood-clotting from others who have taken it. “People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.” In another COVID-19 related announcement, three Stamford Hospital physicians will answer questions from the public about the coronavirus in an online event Wednesday evening sponsored by Darien Library. Federal officials have suggested a pause in using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Darien Health Department does not use it, the department said in the announcement (full text, below).
Five more individuals in Darien Public Schools have COVID-19, the school district announced Friday night, resulting in a total of 15 quarantines at Darien High School. Also, Darien Health Department released its COVID-19 update showing 28 new positive cases in town from April 2 to 8, but no new hospitalizations or deaths (the complete 10-slide report is at the bottom of this article). The one person at Tokeneke School who tested positive for COVID-19 was last in the building on April 1, and that resulted in no quarantines. Four of the five new COVID-19 cases at the high school, resulting in 10 other quarantines of people deemed to be in close-enough contact with them. Two of the people who tested positive for the coronavirus were last in the school on April 2, and the two others were last there on Tuesday, April 6.
A total of 63 people in the Darien school district — students, staff or both — were quarantined after eight of them tested positive for COVID-19, district officials announced late Thursday night. The people quarantined include 34 (with five people testing positive) from Darien High School; one from Middlesex Middle School (who tested positive); and 21 from Tokeneke School (which had two people testing positive). The announcement from Schools Superintendent Alan Addley and district Nursing Director Alicia Casucci was received by Darienite.com at 9:15 p.m.
The people testing positive at Darien High School were last in the building April 1, 6, 7 and (in two cases) Thursday, April 8; the one at Middlesex on April 1; the two at Tokeneke on March 31 and Thursday, April 8. Before the Thursday night announcement, the school district said on its website that as of 10 a.m., Thursday, there were 216 school district community members in quarantine, including 26 testing positive for COVID-19. Twelve hours later, at 10 p.m., the “dashboard” page on the website was updated to state that there are now 34 people associated with the district that have tested positive and 248 in quarantine (see image, below).
Be careful on spring break, but just in case, schools will be on remote learning, Schools Superintendent Alan Addley said in a message Thursday afternoon to parents and staff. A survey of the district’s staff showed that so many would be traveling over the spring break (Monday through Friday, April 12 to 16), that they would have to quarantine themselves when they get back — so the district can’t find enough replacements to hold classes inside school buildings. So remote learning will take place from April 19 to 23 (Monday through Friday), the week after spring break. (Friday, April 23, is a professional learning day for teachers at the high school.)
First Selectman Jayme Stevenson also issued a COVID-19 update on Thursday in which she said there have been 66 new cases in the last two weeks and Darien’s test positivity rate is about a percentage point above the state’s. Addley pointed out that even though the governor has removed mandates for quarantining after out-of-state travel, health officials at the local, state and federal level recommend it, and the school district wants it.
Family therapist Moira Rizzo will lead an interactive discussion on Thursday, April 8 at 10 a.m. on “Pandemic Parenting: Strategies to Keep You and Your Kids Sane Through Challenging Times.”
Her presentation includes how to effectively talk with teens about
—mental health
—social connectedness and
—substance use. The discussion is the fourth in a series of The Community Fund of Darien’s “Our Darien” events this year designed to educate parents about the dangers of substance use, youth mental health and how they can best support their teens. If You’re Attending … Registration for this Zoom webinar, sponsored by The Depot Youth Center and YWCA Parent Awareness, is free and required at www.communityfunddarien.org
Four students or staff in Darien Public Schools tested positive for COVID-19, the district was informed on Wednesday, and contact tracing resulted in 10 others being told to quarantine themselves for 10 days, district officials said. Three of the four people who tested positive are from Darien High School, the other from Middlesex Middle School, and all 10 of the others quarantined are from the high school, according to the announcement sent Wednesday night by Superintendent Alan Addley and district Nursing Director Alicia Casucci. Anyone in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was told to quarantine for 10 days from the time of contact and to get themselves tested for the coronavirus and have their family members tested as well, the announcement said. Recent similar announcements:
Thirteen More COVID-19 Cases in Schools Announced Monday and Tuesday, Total of 71 New Quarantines (Tuesday, April 6)
COVID-19 Found in Four More Individuals in Darien School System, They and 39 Others Quarantined (March 28)
Eight Separate COVID-19 Cases Result in 94 Quarantines at Darien High School, Hindley School (March 25)
Full Text of the Announcement
The email Darienite.com received was sent at 9:30 p.m.:
Dear Parents and Community Members:
Today, April 7, 2021, the Darien Public Schools District COVID Response Team was notified about four (4) individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. The affected individuals have been instructed to remain home in self-isolation for ten (10) days from the date of their positive test. All family members have also been instructed to self-quarantine and get tested.
Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, is tapping into the power of music to reinforce the continued importance of COVID-19 safety precautions with a campaign featuring original music and choreography. — an announcement from Americares
As vaccines roll out across the nation and states relax restrictions, the music and dance-based public health education campaign puts safety precautions at the center of pop culture. The “Wear a Mask” campaign encourages the continued adherence to COVID safety protocols, pairing an infectious melody with an entertaining dance—and scientific evidence. The campaign targets the 18 to 34-year-old demographic, encouraging the age group to adhere to core COVID-19 health hygiene and precautionary measures, including mask wearing, physical distancing and hand washing. The campaign, which debuts today on World Health Day, includes an original song and choreographed dance.
In the past two days, 13 people in Darien Public Schools, either students or adult staff, have tested positive for COVID-19, and a total of 71 people have had to be quarantined for at least 10 days, school district officials have announced. The vast majority of positive tests, nine, came from students or staff at Darien High School. One came from Middlesex Middle School, three from Hindley School and one from Royle School. On Monday, seven people in the district tested positive, resulting in new quarantines for a total of 46 people. Five of the positive tests were of Darien High students; one from Middlesex; two from Hindley and one from Royle.
UPDATE: Add Royle to the schools closed today, according to a 6:04 a.m. message from the superintendent of schools (full text below). A day after almost 700 Darien school teachers and staff received their second vaccine shot, and with a higher-than-usual number of district staff and students under quarantines, a “high number of secondary school staff absences” has left the district unable to open Darien High School and Middlesex Middle School on Monday, Superintendent Alan Addley announced Sunday evening. Elementary schools will remain open as usual, the superintendent said in a message to families and staff emailed to Darienite.com at 9:35 p.m.
There will be no remote learning or sporting events on Monday, and the school day will be made up at the end of the school year, the same way a snow day would, Addley said. “Given the number of secondary school staff illnesses and the District’s inability to cover classes and intervention services, the high school and middle school will be closed tomorrow,” Addley wrote. The number of positive tests for COVID-19 among school staff and students, and the quarantines of anyone near those who tested positive rose significantly in late March.
Teenagers aged 16 and up can try to get a vaccine appointment now or as soon as they can, but town officials hope to organize a student vaccine clinic for late April or May, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said in her latest COVID-19 update to the town. Schools Superintendent Alan Addley, in his COVID-19 update to parents and district staff, said the governor and state Department of Public Health have asked vaccine providers to wait until the secon half of April to schedule clinics specifically for high school students. With anyone aged 16 and older now eligible to get the vaccine in the state, Stevenson said in her Thursday message, “There are over 1 million people in this expanded age group so please be patient as you seek vaccine appointments.” Stevenson reported that the town has had a “significant increase” in pandemic cases over the past two weeks, with 101 new cases (one hospitalized), and 3.95% of town residents testing positive for COVID-19 (which is a percent lower than the state’s rate — 4.45%). As of Thursday, Stevenson said, there were 1,397 total cases from 885 unique households.
More individuals in Darien Public Schools have tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in a total of 43 quarantines, including the 39 others who were in close enough contact to have caught the coronavirus, district officials said on Saturday. The school district’s COVID Response Team was notified about the new test results on Saturday, according to an email from schools Superintendent Alan Addley and Alicia Casucci, director of nursing services for the district. The email received by Darienite.com was sent at 8:45 p.m., Saturday. Three of the positive COVID-19 tests were for Darien High School individual, resulting in a total of 32 quarantines. The other positive test was for a Middlesex Middle School individual, resulting in 11 quarantines, including that individual.
A year has now passed since the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in the United States. Unfortunately, we are not out of the woods yet with the pandemic, despite progress with vaccine distribution. While most would agree that the coronavirus has added to their stress, the pandemic has affected certain groups more than others during the past year. — This article is from Mountainside clinics. The chain’s nearest location is in Wilton. Some may see the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 as a celebration of resilience.
Schools Superintendent Alan Addley acknowledged in his Friday COVID-19 update that the increase in COVID-19 cases among individuals in the school district and the disruptions caused by contract tracing and quarantines have been difficult this past week. It’s all a “reminder that we are not out of the woods,” he said. “It is also a reminder that we should not become complacent about our everyday behaviors and commitment to keeping each other safe by exercising travel, and health practices” that authorities recommend, he said. He noted that some students have been quarantined “several times over the last few weeks, and sometimes consecutively.” But he added that the state requires the school district to quarantine.
In the past two weeks, 65 new cases of COVID-19 have been found in Darien, one person was hospitalized and a total of 300 students and employees of the school district have been put in quarantine, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said Thursday in her CodeRed announcement to the town. Darien Health Department, in its latest Coronavirus Update, released Thursday, said a total of 2,209 vaccination shots have been administered in town, including 1,101 second shots of the Moderna vaccine and 200 Johnson & Johnson vaccines (which don’t require a second shot). The entire 10-slide report is published at the bottom of this article. “Local cases and students in quarantine are, unfortunately, on the rise,” she said. She pointed out that sine COVID-19 symptoms are very similar to seasonal allergy symptoms, when anyone in your family has those symptoms, “you should assume you have COVID-19, and all family members should get tested.”
