Coronavirus: Brookfield Schools Stay Hybrid Through Next Week

BROOKFIELD, CT — The public schools will remain on a hybrid schedule through Nov. 20, in the face of a rise in coronavirus positivity in the town.

Superintendent John Barile notified parents of the schedule change in an email Friday, a day after the state Department of Public Health reported another 20 cases of the virus in the town over the last week.

Health officials warn that the state is in for a "very difficult two or three months," as COVID-related hospitalizations statewide have nearly doubled in the past few weeks.

"The leading COVID health indicator has trended upward from 19.3 cases per 100,000 last week to a positive rate of 22.3 cases per 100,000 for the 14 day period from October 20 - November 7th," Barile wrote. "This statistic is what is keeping Brookfield in the RED zone. Our health data are in the range where the Hybrid learning model should continue to be implemented. Thankfully, we still have no evidence of virus transmission in any of our schools."

Kindergarten students will continue to use their current hybrid attendance model. Those students will continue attending 4 days per week either in the morning or in the afternoon, depending on their cohort, with Wednesday being a remote learning day for all students.

Wednesday will remain a remote learning day for the entire district.

Statewide, the Department of Public Health reported another 1,158 cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours. The total number of red zone municipalities, where the infection rate is above 15 cases per 100,000 people per day for two weeks, is now 100, and includes Brookfield.