Coronavirus: Danbury Schools Closed Until Mid-January

DANBURY, CT — The public schools will remain closed for in-person learning until mid-January, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb in the city.

Superintendent Sal Pascarella notified families in a letter Thursday, a day when the city reported 118 new cases.

"We continue to work with our local health officials and our medical advisors to find a safe pathway for our students to begin in-person learning," Pascarella wrote. "However, the medical team has determined our current numbers of positive COVID-19 cases does not support bringing students into our schools in the hybrid model at this time."

Health officials warn that the state is in for a "very difficult two or three months," as COVID-related hospitalizations statewide have nearly doubled in the past few weeks.

At the last school board meeting, Pascarella made the decision to keep the public schools on complete distance learning through Thanksgiving. This latest decision will extend it by another six weeks.

"We know this decision creates a hardship on many of our families and we sincerely appreciate your understanding and patience during this extremely difficult time," Pascarella wrote.

Statewide, the Department of Public Health reported another 1,158 cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours. The total number of red zone municipalities, where the infection rate is above 15 cases per 100,000 people per day for two weeks, is now 100, and includes Danbury and most of its neighboring towns.