Danbury Schools To Remain On Distance Learning Into Thanksgiving

DANBURY, CT — Public school children in the city will stay out of school buildings a little while longer.

The school board announced during its meeting Tuesday night that full-time distance learning will continue at least until Thanksgiving break.

The statement came on a day when the city had 76 new virus cases—the highest daily number since the spring.

Plans were originally made for schools to reopen using the hybrid attendance model on Oct. 26, but that was delayed in the face of ongoing high coronavirus positivity rates in the city.

"The prediction then was that (the numbers) would go up," Superintendent Sal Pascarella said. "Right now, they've gone through the roof."

That rate has been around 9 percent over two weeks, according to Danbury's acting health director, Kara Prunty, who attended the Zoom meeting.

The city has averaged 46.4 new daily cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, according to Prunty, with a positivity rate around 9 percent over two weeks.

Prunty said the levels are "creeping to where they were in the spring."

There are 40 students and staff in Danbury with the virus, said Kathy O’Dowd, school health and nursing services coordinator.

"The numbers are so radically bad," Pascarella said. "Much more severe than we've had in, I can't remember how long."

He said that the schools would adopt additional mitigation procedures, including new testing and disinfectant strategies, once schools did reopen to hybrid attendance.

"We've looked at the science part of this," Pascarella said. "It's not the best time to bring our youngsters back."

The state Department of Public Health reported Tuesday that Connecticut's coronavirus positivity rate rose to 6.74 percent, the highest since May. Another 52 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, bringing the total to 548.