First Selectman's Thanksgiving Caution With 28 New COVID Cases

GUILFORD, CT - Guilford has 28 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week, First Selectman Matt Hoey said Monday. The town now has 216 confirmed and 28 probable cases. Thirteen have died.

Hoey said the town has “the lowest infection rate” among surrounding towns. He also noted that Guilford residents can self-report a positive COVID-19 test result directly to the town’s health director here. The reason self-reporting may be helpful is that there’s sometimes a delay between when a test result is received by a positive person and when the health department actually gets notification from the state data system.

“To effectively reduce community transmission, identifying close contacts as soon as possible is crucial,” Hoey said, and self-reporting can help speed up the contact process.

“Collecting detailed information is vital for maintaining the health of the Guilford community,” he said.

And talking turkey, Hoey said that Thanksgiving gatherings and travel may make matters worse.

“If we allow it to, the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday will give the virus the perfect opportunity to continue to spread throughout our community,” Hoey said.

“I urge you all to stay home and celebrate small this year in an effort to help eliminate the risk of unchecked COVID-19 spread in the coming weeks. Let’s all stay safe this year, so that we can celebrate with all our loved ones next year.”