Mayor Martin: We're Beginning To Come Out Of The Pandemic

STAMFORD, CT — Mayor David Martin gave his weekly COVID-19 update for Stamford on Tuesday night, and said that the city is beginning to finally emerge from the pandemic.

As of Tuesday, Stamford was averaging a little over three cases per day on a seven day moving average, which is part of a larger trend across the state in which most municipalities are reporting fewer than five cases per 100,000.

At Stamford Hospital as of Tuesday, there was just one COVID positive patient being treated, with zero in the Intensive Care Unit for the fourth week in a row. There were no fatalities reported in the last week, Martin said, leaving the total number of Stamford residents who have died at 305.

"This means we're beginning to come out [of the pandemic]," Martin said of the improving numbers. "We're beginning to have all the excitement and all the richness of Stamford."

Martin highlighted some of the recent events around the city that would have seemed impossible to hold only a few months ago. But even with all the good news and signs of normalcy, Martin stressed the importance of vaccines, as most people who are being hospitalized around the country with COVID are unvaccinated.

In Stamford as of June 2, 64% of the population has had at least one dose of the vaccine. Martin hopes to hit the 70% mark in the future, but he cited challenges in getting people to take the shot along the I-95 corridor.

In total, Stamford, in conjunction with Stamford Health and Community Health Centers, has administered over 270,000 vaccines since the process began.

In the 65-plus age group, 99.6% of Stamford residents have at least one dose, up from 99.1% last week. For those 45-64, 84.7% have coverage, up from 83.9% a week ago. And in the 15-14 age range, 66.2% have coverage, compared to 64.4 last week.

Stamford has tried to penetrate the community in order to get the word out about vaccines. Laura Burwick, special assistant to Martin, gave an update on the community work that's taken place so far.

Over 6,800 vaccine doses have been administered in local venues, such as residential buildings, churches, community organizations like the YMCA, grocery stores, city parks and homeless shelters and food banks.

There have been weekly pop-up sites in park locations, and vaccinations at special events. Health workers have also been canvassing neighborhoods.

"It's exciting as we see these cases coming down. The vaccination number going up helps us all get to the point where we can protect ourselves, protect our family, and protect the community and [gives us] the excitement of coming out enjoying life again post-pandemic," Martin said. "We can have the joy and the hugs and the friendship again. It does depend on everyone getting vaccinated. If your friends have not been vaccinated, help them understand that this is what to do. We've made it as easy as we can possibly make it. It's absolutely free, and the side effects are so small."

For a complete calendar of vaccination locations, click here.