On Thursday Greenwich Schools Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones e-mailed families to relay news that Governor Ned Lamont will keep Connecticut schools closed through May 20.
Lamont said he made the decision “in the best interests of public health.”
On March 24, the Governor extended the closure of Connecticut’s public schools to April 20, but in recent days he had suggested he might extend that date.
In fact the Governor has suggested that it may be necessary to keep schools closed for the remainder of the school year, but it remains possible that schools will reopen for the last few weeks of school.
As of 4:00pmon Thursday Greenwich had 288 cases of COVID-19.
(Stamford 1113, Darien 127, New Canaan 81, Danbury 632, Bridgeport 564, Waterbury 400).
Fairfield County had 4882 cases and 178 deaths.
More State Data is available here.
In the best interests of public health, @EducateCT Commissioner @teachcardona and I have decided to delay the re-opening of classes at schools until May 20.
Commissioner Cardona will join me at our 4PM news briefing to provide more information for parents, teachers, and staff.
— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) April 9, 2020
Lamont’s announcement about schools staying closed for another 30 days dovetailed with positive news that the number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past 24 hours in Connecticut was the lowest it’s been in two weeks.
The Governor said the state’s infection rate is “beginning to bend a little bit,” and that there were 46 net new hospitalizations since Wednesday, and because of the number of patients released, the total number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals had dropped by one patient.
In late March Vermont Governor Phil Scott announced all schools would stay closed for the rest of the school year.
Schools in New York and Massachusetts are closed through the end of April.