Mayor Provides Update On Coronavirus, Vaccinations In Stamford

STAMFORD, CT — As vaccines continue to roll out in Stamford, and with Easter and other chances to gather right around the corner, Mayor David Martin urged residents this week to remain cautious and continue following safety guidelines.

During a coronavirus livestream update held Tuesday evening, Martin said Stamford has averaged 47 new cases of the virus each day over the past week. That number marks a slight increase, as the city averaged 32 cases a day about two weeks ago, Martin said.

Additionally, four more Stamford residents died within the past week as a result of the virus, Martin said. (To sign up for Stamford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

As of Tuesday, Stamford Hospital had 14 patients in-house who have tested positive for the virus, Martin said. Two patients were in the hospital's intensive care unit.

According to Martin, 21.2 percent of Stamford's total population has received at least their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of March 15. Over 90,000 vaccines in total have been distributed in Stamford as of this past weekend, Martin said.

While vaccines continue to roll out in the city and more residents soon to become eligible to sign up for one in April, Martin urged residents not to fall into a false sense of security.

"COVID-19 is still here," Martin said, "so wear the mask, and wear it over your nose and mouth."

He also reminded residents to continue to wash their hands frequently, practice safe social distancing and avoid large gatherings.

Superintendent Tamu Lucero joined Martin on the livestream to thank the mayor and other local officials for emphasizing the need for teachers and school staff to receive coronavirus vaccinations over the past few months.

"You all were the ones out there screaming the loudest that we need to see our teachers and our staff vaccinated, which did happen over the last three weekends," Lucero said during the livestream. "We were so excited to see staff walking into the Stamford Hospital. We can not thank them enough for how much care they gave to our staff. The feedback that we got was just simply amazing. Each of them were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson, which is the one dose [vaccine], so many of them now are fully vaccinated. We're really excited about that."

Lucero said Stamford Public Schools students at the elementary and middle school levels recently returned to school for in-person learning five days a week, as opposed to the district's previously established hybrid model.

According to Lucero, students at schools she recently visited were very excited about this.

"I will tell you that at most of our schools, it was like a pep rally," Lucero said. "You saw balloons and you saw people dancing. It was a really exciting time for our students, for the first time, to be able to walk back into school together."

Lucero said less than a dozen elementary hybrid students decided they were not comfortable returning to school yet, four of which have since said they do plan to return to in-person learning.

"At the middle school [level], I was surprised to learn that we had less than 10 kids that did not want to return to in-person learning," Lucero said, "so that shows how excited our students are to be back in school full-time, five days a week."

While the return to a more familiar schedule has proved successful at the elementary and middle schools thus far, Lucero said the district is still working on a plan for its high schools.

"Our two main issues are lunch and making sure we have enough space in all of our rooms," Lucero said. "We're very close to seeing if we are going to able to make this happen, so please stay tuned."

A full video of Tuesday's livestream can be viewed on the Stamford Government Facebook page.