Marconi Asks Ridgefield To 'Remain Vigilant' In Coronavirus Lull

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Town officials are asking residents to "remain vigilant" as surrounding towns experience a rise in positive cases, especially in the lower age groups.

"There is a good reason why the Governor has ordered travel restrictions and asked people not to congregate," Health Director Ed Briggs said in a news release.

To date, 3,276 people in town have been tested and 219 have been confirmed positive for the virus. The coronavirus death toll in Ridgefield is 43, with 40 of those from assisted care/nursing facilities.

As of two weeks ago, there were 12 active cases and one recent death from a care facility. Ages of the active cases range from less than 1 years old to over 80 with most falling in the 19-50 year old range. Ridgefielders are experiencing a "low, flat CV-19 infection and hospitalization rate," according to Briggs.

"Local positive tests are so low — only a handful weekly — that the only thing we can glean from them is that Ridgefielders are doing a good job with social distancing, hygiene and wearing masks," Briggs said.

Statewide, the trend of keeping the positive coronavirus test rate below 1 percent has continued its trend, but eight new deaths were reported Wednesday. Hospitalizations increased by one patient to 67. The number of people who have contracted the coronavirus in the state hit 47,636 and 4,380 people have died.

"We are seeing a trend of younger people beginning to get the virus and we are attributing that partially to their relaxed behavior," said First Selectman Rudy Marconi.

"When we first saw a rise in town numbers back in April and May, everyone worked together to take precautions by wearing masks, sanitizing their surroundings and limiting the size of any groups they were in. It worked and in the past couple of weeks, we have only had a handful of cases. But what worries me is that those cases could spike if we don’t continue our efforts," Marconi said.