www.plainvillecitizen.com
Volume 20, Number 31
Thursday, August 5, 2021
PARC activities return Like many other non-profits, PARC, Inc. canceled all programs, services and fundraisers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, after a oneyear hiatus, this organization, which provides familycentered support, direct services and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities, has resumed its programming. Members meet several nights each week at 28 E. Maple St. for social activities. Members enjoy crafts, Wii games, chair yoga, karaoke, bingo, dancing, movies and outdoor fun. Saturdays feature bowling at Lessard Lanes. Membership is open to residents of Plainville and contiguous towns, and begins with a short meeting, during which staff can assess the needs of the member and confer with parents or caregivers. After completing a simple information form, members receive a calendar of See PARC, A8
Officials urge mask use, even for the vaccinated
The 2021 school year ended with local students and staff wearing masks, and it appears that’s how they will return to the halls this fall.
School COVID protocols likely will remain in place By Michael Gagne Record-Journal staff
Education leaders throughout the area are preparing to resume in-person learning for all students this fall. But the new academic year does not mean returning to a full normal in school buildings just yet. Students, staff members and visitors to area schools likely will be required to continue wearing masks. COVID-19 vaccination rates, though relatively strong in Connecticut, have slowed and are especially lagging nationwide. A vaccine has yet to be approved for inoculating children younger than 12 years old.
All the while, the more contagious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus has emerged in Connecticut. As conditions continue to evolve, state and local school and health leaders maintained they are committed to providing 100% in-person learning when September arrives. Officials cited the need to provide students with continuous in-person learning and the ability to interact with their peers and teachers in a safe environment.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health on Sunday issued an alert that strongly recommends all Connecticut residents over 2 years old wear face masks in indoor public spaces, whether they’re vaccinated or not, given the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks because of the delta variant. The warning came as all but one of the state’s eight counties were classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as having “substantial transmission” of COVID19. The state’s only county with moderate transmission, Litchfield County, has a high likelihood of meeting the substantial threshold soon, the state department said. COVID-19 infection rates remain low in Plainville, but appear to be increasing in some local communities.
State officials’ goals include a full return as well, according to revised state Department of Education recommendations issued on July 25.
As of the week of July 24, Meriden had 31 cases reported, with 16 the week before, and an infection rate of 5.7 per 100,000 people. Wallingford had five or fewer cases reported both those weeks, with an infection rate of five or
See Protocols, A9
See Vaccinated, A13
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