Greenwich warns it is ‘preparing for possibly more’ COVID cases – Greenwich Time

GREENWICH — Even though the number of new COVID-19 cases in town is “stable,” a local health official warned that “there could be an influx of cases in the fall.”

The warning comes as schools prepare to reopen classrooms to students and as colder fall weather will soon set in, according to Director of Health Caroline Baisley.

“We are preparing for possibly more cases,” Baisley said. “There could be an influx of cases in the fall as the weather gets cooler and the humidity starts to drop. We are working on that and refining some of the things we have to put in place.”

Baisley spoke to the Board of Selectmen on Thursday morning and provided an update on the town’s efforts on contact tracing and on the number of coronavirus cases in Greenwich.

Since the outbreak began in March, there have been 949 diagnosed cases among Greenwich residents, an increase of only one since Monday, she said.

“We’re more or less stable,” Baisley told the board.

Of the cases, five are considered “active,” with her department conducting contact tracing, she said. With contact tracing, an official is assigned to every new COVID-19 case to investigate where the person has been and who they have come into contact with.

It is a valuable tool for identifying possible cases before the virus can be spread any further, Baisley said.

Also, her department is moving forward with implementation of the state’s new data entry system to improve its contact tracing efforts, Baisley said. The state is working out a few kinks, she said, but the tracing is “moving along” and her staff is trained to input the required data.

“We more or less feel at this point, as opposed to the spring when we didn’t have any restrictions in place, that most of the contacts we are finding are people with their own families,” Baisley said. “Occasionally, you get a boyfriend or a girlfriend or that kind of thing or a friend, but we see more of the family as close contacts. That’s a big change from before when we saw a lot of non-family close contacts because there were no restrictions in the community.”

As of Thursday, Greenwich Hospital reported it was treating only one coronavirus patient. It has discharged 636 patients with COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Baisley told the selectmen that the numbers, which come from the state Department of Public Health, can sometimes fluctuate.

“We occasionally get someone who is a New York resident or is a duplicate on the list,” she said. “There could be a variation in case numbers from day-to-day as a result of that. If I report out on Wednesday that there are 950 cases and today we’re down to 949, there is a reason for that. We did have a duplicate in the system.”

Baisley did not provide a breakdown of the numbers, but she said the most COVID-19 cases in Greenwich have occurred in residents between 50 and 59 years old. The second highest number of cases are in the 60 to 69 age range, with the 20 and 49 group coming in third.

The department has prepared a list of nearby spots for COVID-19 testing, which is posted at www.greenwichct.gov. Those locations include Greenwich Hospital, Family Centers Health Care and Murphy Medical Associates as well as several in Stamford.

The town’s annual flu shot clinics for residents will go forward this year, she said, but did not provide specifics.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com