House parties in Greenwich may have spread COVID-19 among teenagers; official says individuals not cooperating with contact tracing
A recent COVID-19 flare-up in Greenwich can be traced back to a series of parties attended by teenagers between July 15 and July 19, a town official said Friday.
Greenwich experienced 41 new cases from July 19-25, according to state numbers, the most of any Connecticut municipality. Barbara Heins, an aide to First Selectman Fred Camillo, said about half of recent cases have been individuals between the ages of 10 and 19 and that most of those young people attended the same series of parties.
Heins said contact tracing efforts have been hampered by a lack of participation among involved families.
“Many of the individuals they are contacting, including the young people and their families, they are not cooperating,” Heins said.
Largely as a result of the spike in Greenwich, Fairfield County has now experienced 9.1 daily cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, higher than nearly every other county in the Northeast, according to the New York Times.
A spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Public Health said the department was aware of the situation in Greenwich and was working with local contact tracers to track how far the virus has spread. He said the flare-up was one reason Gov. Ned Lamont and other public officials have increasingly warned this week about a lack of social distancing among young people.
“I know how frustrating this is for young people because you’ve been sort of quarantined for the last four or five months, and that’s not really the best place to be when you’re 17 years of age,” Lamont said Tuesday. “I’ve got to ask you to be very careful a little bit longer.”
Officials have begun noting a rise in infections among younger Connecticut residents, even as the state’s total case counts have stayed fairly steady.
“The one area that we’re tracking closely right now are those younger kids, where there’s some unacceptable behavior going on, some partying and some not adhering to the rules,” said Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer, at a press conference Thursday.
Lamont said he hoped “the power of shame” would keep young people from engaging in behavior that could spread the virus.
Heins said the Greenwich Board of Selectman will hold a special meeting on August 5 to discuss whether to impose criminal charges or fines on individuals who violate social distancing rules.
Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.
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