As the number of Newtown residents contracting the highly transmissible COVID-19 delta variant continues to increase, Health District Director Donna Culbert is re-upping her strong recommendation for any resident who remains unvaccinated to become vaccinated now.

“Getting vaccinated should be a number one priority for those who are not,” Culbert told The Newtown Bee on Wednesday, August 19. “It’s really the best way to protect yourself and others — and there are plenty of options for getting the vaccine right now.”

Culbert said the dozen or so additional cases she has seen locally in recent days fall into two categories: those who have traveled themselves or hosted family or guests who have traveled into town from elsewhere; and young families whose children require frequent, close contact that lends itself to spreading the virus if one or more family members are shedding it, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.

And much like what is happening across the state and nation, Culbert has seen cases in residents who are already fully vaccinated.

“I’m seeing a considerable number of breakthrough cases who are mildly ill — feeling like they have a summer cold, or experiencing a fever for as little as 12 to 24 hours,” she said.

For local residents who are traveling now, or who plan to before the end of summer, Culbert is advising they monitor themselves for any type of cold or flu-like symptoms upon return, and to avoid a lot of outside contacts for a few days.

“I’d hate to see an asymptomatic resident return from traveling and expose a lot of others,” she said.

Culbert also remains concerned about gatherings and social situations where mask wearing may be lax or non-existent — even outdoors — because of the aggressive way the delta variant spreads. And she is nervous about those who may be caregivers to those who are more vulnerable.

The only way to minimize risk, therefore, is to get vaccinated for those who are not.

“I know there are still a good number of Newtown residents who are hesitant to get the vaccine,” Culbert said. “And I want to help ensure those folks who are not vaccinated can ask all the questions they want and get the answers they need to make the right decision.”

With increasing mask mandates and similar directives being put in place in municipalities across the state, and developing news about distributing booster shots for those who already received both Pfizer or Modurna doses, Culbert is continuing to monitor developments by the minute, and will immediately share new information through municipal communications channels and local media partner The Newtown Bee, newtownbee.com.

For the first time in months, Governor Ned Lamont has scheduled a press briefing specifically on the COVID-19 situation for Thursday, August 19, after this newspaper goes to press. Print readers can find critical updates on the newspaper’s website, or links to breaking news from The Bee’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Masks In Schools

Two days earlier, Lamont said he had no plans yet to implement a statewide mask mandate, but will keep in place the current requirement that face coverings be worn inside schools. Lamont said keeping children and teachers safe remains a top priority with the school year set to begin in two weeks.

“I see some of the problems they are having in the southern states, where the kids are not wearing masks, where they’re forced to quarantine, where teachers are getting ill and we’re not going to let that happen, not in Connecticut,” Lamont said during an unrelated news conference in New Haven.

He later clarified that there will be a statewide mandate for all classrooms from kindergarten through 12th grade and that it would stay in place for at least the first month of the school year.

“I hope it’s not something we’ve got to do for more than a month or two, but time will tell,” he said. “COVID has its own timetable.”

Lamont’s executive order requiring masks in schools is set to expire with the rest of his executive powers on September 30.

But Martin Looney, the Democratic president pro tempore of the state Senate from New Haven, said lawmakers will meet next month to decide whether to extend those executive powers further, a move he said he would support.

“It could go, potentially, through the beginning of the session in February,” Looney said. “But I think that decision will be made on the state of the pandemic at the time we come in.”

Lamont said he’s also planning to meet with union leaders who represent nursing home workers to discuss whether to extend the deadline for getting those workers vaccinated.

An executive order prevents nursing homes from employing anyone who has not received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by September 7. Nursing home owners found in violation of the order face fines of $20,000 a day.

Lamont said he prefers using incentives rather than mandates when it comes to convincing people to get vaccinated, but believes the effectiveness of concert ticket or cash giveaways may be waning.

“To get that next 10% vaccinated, I’m not sure incentives will be enough,” he said.

UConn Vaccination Requirement

The University of Connecticut is requiring all of its employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive an exemption that would require them to submit to weekly testing.

The policy, announced in a letter to faculty and staff Tuesday, is similar to one already instituted for residential students attending the fall semester at UConn.

Dr Andrew Agwunobi, the school’s interim president, said the policy applies to employees at all UConn campuses as well as UConn Health in Farmington and was created in collaboration with the unions that represent faculty and staff.

Employees must show evidence of vaccination by October 15 or request and receive an exemption or deferral, he said.

The school has about 9,800 full- and part-time employees — about 5,100 at the main campus in Storrs and its regional campuses in Hartford, Stamford, Avery Point, and Waterbury, and about 4,700 at UConn Health.

Students are scheduled to begin moving into dorms at UConn on August 27, with classes beginning on August 30.

The school announced Wednesday that 96% of the students planning to live on campus in Storrs and 92% of the residential students in Stamford are at least partially vaccinated.

Quinnipiac University has sent an e-mail to students who have failed to comply with its vaccination policy, advising them they will face weekly fines until they either get their shots or apply for an exemption.

Those who do not will be charged $100 a week for the first two weeks of the semester. That fee will rise by $25 every two weeks until it reaches $200 a week, the school said. A student who fails to comply through the entire semester would end up paying $2,275.

Students also will lose access to Wi-Fi and the campus intranet if they fail to complete the vaccination mandate by September 14, the school said.

The university will stop billing students once they submit proof of their first vaccination. If students become fully vaccinated by September 14, the fees will be waived, the school said.

Editor John Voket can be reached at editor@thebee.com.