With only one second-dose COVID-19 vaccine clinic left on her schedule and no significant demand for more, Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert is feeling more positive than she has in many months.

“Fall is usually my favorite season, but this year it’s definitely spring,” Culbert told The Newtown Bee, May 27. “I’m more hopeful than I have been in a long time. I feel like we’re finally headed in the right direction.”

That enthusiasm is reflected all over town, with eating and drinking establishments bustling with patrons, shops and stores reopening and hiring to meet customer demand, summer camps firming up their schedules and programs, and recreational facilities, playgrounds, and Newtown’s parks and trails seeing more and more foot traffic.

Across Connecticut, 3,759,798 vaccine doses had been administered by May 24, encompassing well over 93% of those over age 65. On the other end of the scale, almost one third (27%) of those ages 12 to 15 have been jabbed, and more than half of those between 16 and 24 are now protected, with age group proportions increasing from there.

From a statewide perspective, Governor Ned Lamont is also talking and promoting changes. Earlier this week, he hinted at discontinuing his twice-weekly COVID-19 press briefings as positivity rates have dipped below or hovered around 1% for nearly two weeks.

As of May 26, the total of laboratory-confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases reported among Connecticut residents was 346,980; 122 patients were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 at that time, and 8,227 COVID-19-associated deaths had been confirmed.

Locally, with just under 60,000 virus tests administered among residents, Newtown’s case count has leveled off at 2,119, and no additional deaths beyond the 66 on record have been logged for many weeks.

At the same time, the Connecticut Department of Public Health and agencies like Culbert’s continue to monitor a growing number of virus variants affecting state residents.

On May 20, the state reported the following variants of concern:

• B.1.1.7 (first detected in the United Kingdom): 2,765 cases

• B.1.351 (first detected in South Africa): 28 cases

• P.1 (first detected in Brazil): 93 cases

• B.1.427 (first detected in California): 62 cases

• B.1.429 (first detected in California): 144 cases

Eight additional variants of interest are currently impacting 1,080 state residents.

Wheeling Around

On May 26, Lamont was also touting a plan to help get folks out and about, announcing that Weekend Wheels — the fare-free CTtransit bus service that will be available to everyone in Connecticut each weekend this summer — is extending to include all local transit district bus routes statewide.

In March, the governor announced plans to launch Weekend Wheels as part of an effort to help the state and its residents recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic. It is being supported with funding from the federal CARES Act.

Under the initiative, customers will not be required to pay any bus fares on Saturdays and Sundays between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend 2021. The fare-free bus service will also include the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 31; the Independence Day holiday on Monday, July 5; and the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 6.

Bus services in this promotion include all CTtransit local routes, all routes operated by transit districts, and Americans with Disabilities Act paratransit services.

The governor said that the fare-free weekend bus service dovetails with other pandemic recovery initiatives his administration has proposed for this summer, including a program that will allow Connecticut’s children to visit museums and other tourist attractions throughout the state free of charge. Many of these attractions, such as the Beardsley Zoo, the Connecticut Science Center, and the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, are on bus routes with weekend service.

“In addition to offering some economic relief to families that rely on bus service, this fare-free weekend initiative will encourage residents to visit locally owned businesses and help support Connecticut’s economy in communities that have been heavily affected by the economic impact of the pandemic,” Governor Lamont said. “I am appreciative of the local transit districts that are partnering with the state on Weekend Wheels.”

Transit Destinations Aplenty

“While Connecticut’s bus and train systems were never shut down as a result of the pandemic, unfortunately, many local businesses and organizations had no other option than to pause or curtail their operations,” Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti said.

“This fare-free bus service will allow people to get to many of the state’s great destinations that are served by CTtransit and local transit district bus routes. By using Weekend Wheels, residents can visit museums, get to the beach, attend baseball games, shop in local stores, and patronize local restaurants and breweries,” Giulietti added. “This connection is crucial in jump starting our economy that was impacted by the virus. We can also reconnect families and friends who have been forced apart due to the pandemic.”

Passengers are still required to cover their mouths and noses with a mask or face covering while on all buses, in adherence with the recently updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which says that everyone must continue wearing masks on public transportation whether or not they have been vaccinated, as well as federal requirements from the Transportation Security Administration.

Passengers should continue practicing social distancing on all buses, at stops, and while entering and exiting the bus. They should also not use public transportation if they feel sick.

Enhanced cleaning protocols as recommended by the CDC are still being utilized on all buses in Connecticut for the foreseeable future. To learn more about routes and destinations offered by CTtransit, visit cttransit.com.

Associate Editor John Voket can be reached at john@thebee.com.