Norwalk Continues Coronavirus Prep, Hopes To Avoid School Closure

NORWALK, CT — As preparations continue to battle COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), Norwalk officials are hoping not to have to close schools to avoid an outbreak, they announced.

The prospect of possible school closures came up on Thursday during the debut of Mayor Harry Rilling's new coalition of local stakeholders who will monitor the virus' progress and provide updates to residents.

"Right now we have no confirmed cases in the state of Connecticut, but we have indications that there are cases in Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts," Rilling said, adding that Los Angeles County in California this week declared a state of emergency over the virus.

Norwalk Public Schools has increased its cleaning and disinfecting procedures of all buildings, paying particular attention to "touch points" such as door handles and desks, said Dr. Frank Costanzo, the district's School Operations chief.

"We are hopeful that we will not need to close schools due to the coronavirus, but parents should be thinking now, through their own plans, for work and possible child care just to be safe," Costanzo said.

The district is working on preparing some online lesson plans and other educational resources should schools need to be closed, but Costanzo said educating the entire student population of a building is not yet possible.

One of the key recommendations from state and federal health officials is for schools to avoid large gatherings, such as assemblies and cafeteria meals, so the Norwalk district might begin in-class dining at lunch, according to Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Adamowski.

Additionally, the district is considering staggered school start and dismissal times to help reduce the number of students who are together at any particular time.

"We do have the capacity to enforce a quarantine and provide a child's education at home for 14 days," Adamowski said, in the event of an illness and/or a family visiting a country with a higher level of risk of coronavirus.

Norwalk officials and coalition members will meet every Thursday morning throughout the virus' duration period to discuss the situation, and will meet more often if needed, Rilling said.

State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, who represents Norwalk and Darien, said that Connecticut is now able to fully conduct diagnostic testing for COVID-19, and that state officials stand ready to assist individual communities with the situation.

Watch the Norwalk coronavirus press conference.

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