Dear Chester,
On this beautiful day I saw many folks out walking, working in their gardens, playing catch with their kids. In my house, my daughter was doing college homework on the computer, laundry was being done, I ironed fabric to cut out for a friend who is making masks, and brought more donated food to Town Hall to restock the food pantry. Late in the afternoon, the neighbors got "together while apart" on opposite sides of the street for a simple celebration of a milestone birthday.
Then I started to receive texts (several), all of which expressed some type of concern about people forgetting about social distancing. Some were close together and without masks in a line to pick up take out. Others were congregating in a fairly large group in a park. Residents were deeply concerned.
It is difficult and awkward to physically maintain separation from other people. Not what we are used to and a bit outside of our natures. We are doing a bang up job in general following the rules set up to protect ourselves and our loved ones. This is just a reminder to keep up the good work and to remember to persist in these efforts.
Chester currently has more than 21 confirmed cases of COVID19. I would caution you not to put too much credence in the numbers, however. We are finding many cracks in the data collection that allows for information accuracy between the CT Department of Public Health and the local health district. Additionally, although most of our cases are residents and some staff at Aaron Manor, one of the reasons the numbers are so skewed to the nursing home population is that, for the regular person feeling under the weather with a low grade fever, it is almost impossible to actually get tested.
So please assume that at least half of the people you come across during the day are contagious and could get you or your loved ones sick. The other half may be vulnerable and you could potentially get them sick. Remember to stay safe, stay home as much as possible, and protect yourself and your loved ones.
Be well,
Lauren S. Gister
