This time last year, the state of Connecticut had already declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chester and Essex declared local emergencies on March 14, 2020 while Deep River’s took effect March 15, 2020. In-person learning and activities for the schools of the Regional 4 School District were also suspended last March.

With the one-year anniversary of Governor Ned Lamont’s Stay Safe-Stay Home order, which took effect on March 23, 2020, fast approaching, the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the communities of Chester, Deep River, and Essex is extensive and undeniable.

Although new strains of the virus have emerged as cases of COVID-19 are declining in the state, great strides have been made to inoculate residents and provide state and federal aid to individuals, businesses, and other entities that have been financially impacted by the pandemic.

COVID-19 in Chester, Deep River and Essex

Data collected by the state Department of Public Health shows the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in each of the towns, excluding nursing homes and congregate settings, as of March 10. With a lack of testing early in the pandemic and asymptomatic cases, the actual number of cases could potentially be much higher than what has been documented.

In Chester, there have been 198 cases of COVID-19, with 14 deaths. In Deep River, the data shows 255 cases, with no deaths. In Essex, the data shows 384 cumulative cases, with 12 deaths. Overall, in Middlesex County, there have been 10,705 total cases and 346 deaths, according to state data.

The impact of COVID-19 on the towns’ most vulnerable populations, residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, was also considerable.

In Chester, 36 of the 53 residents at Aaron Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation contracted COVID-19, with 12 deaths, according to data as of March 11 from the state Department of Public Health. The data also shows 13 of 41 residents having contracted COVID-19, with one death at Chesterfield’s Health Care Center in Chester.

At Essex Meadows Health Center in Essex, 20 of 30 residents have contracted COVID-19, with 8 deaths, according to state data.

Six residents of Masonicare at Chester Village, an assisted living facility, have contracted COVID-19, with one resident death at the facility, as of Feb. 18, which was the most recent state data available. The data for the assisted living facility at Essex Meadows shows 1 resident having contracted COVID-19, with no deaths, as of Feb. 18.

Schools and COVID-19

After ending the prior school year with teaching and learning occurring from home, the schools of the Regional 4 school system started the 2020–’21 (‘21) school year in a hybrid configuration.

A hybrid model is when half of the student body attends school in-person while the other half attends remotely on different days during the week. This approach allowed the school system to transition students and staff into new routines required by COVID-19 safety protocols before resuming full in-person classes.

These safety protocols, which are outlined by the state of Connecticut, include meeting criteria for air filtration and ventilation, use of personal protective equipment, social distancing and hand hygiene, among other mitigation measures.

The state made three models of learning available this school year—in-person, hybrid, or remote—so that schools can choose how best to respond to the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community. Parents are also allowed to opt for their child or children to attend remotely due to COVID-19.

On Oct. 13, 2020, Region 4 schools returned to full, in-person learning five days a week. To date, there have been several instances where positive cases of COVID-19 and resulting quarantines of students and teaching staff have disrupted school operations by moving teachers and students to an online, or remote format. At times, this affected small groups of students and staff while at other times, it was an entire school.

The state’s open data portal for COVID-19 in pre-K to 12 schools shows the cumulative range of cases for each of the schools in the district. To help ensure that students and staff cannot be identified in the data when schools report a low number of positive cases during a week, the state portal lists any number of cases between 1 and 5 in a week as “less than 6.”

As a result, the data does not provide an exact number of total cases, but it can be used to determine a range providing a minimum and maximum number of cases that may have occurred.

As of March 4, there has been at least 41 cases throughout the schools of the Regional 4 School District, according to the state data.

Despite these cases, the school system has been able to maintain its commitment to operating in a full, in-person mode of school for most of the school year. State data indicates high attendance for the schools in the district for the ‘21 school year, ranging from 94 percent to 98 percent, according to the state’s open data portal for pre-K to 12 schools.

“In light of the unexpected and unprecedented challenges that the pandemic has presented to our schools and the communities they serve, I am exceptionally proud of the teachers and staff of the schools of Chester, Deep River, Essex, and Region 4 for their daily efforts to support our students and families,” said Superintendent of Schools Brian White. “I am also grateful to our students and their families for their perseverance and support, and I thank them for the trust they have placed in us.

“I would also like to thank our local health departments as well as all of the other local governmental agencies who have partnered with our schools to support our operations,” he added.

Vaccine Administration

The State of Connecticut continues to make progress in making the COVID-19 vaccine available to residents of Chester, Deep River, and Essex, currently using age-based eligibility.

As of March 8, approximately 31 percent of Chester residents, 30 percent of Deep River residents, and 40 percent of Essex residents, have received a first dose of the vaccine, according to data from the state Department of Public Health.

Scott Martinson, director of health for the Connecticut River Area Health District (CRAHD), reported at the March 9 Deep River Board of Selectmen meeting that the health district’s clinic in Old Saybrook had vaccinated 9,013 individuals.

CRAHD Public Health Nurse Sherry Carlson discussed the clinic as a community effort at the BOS meeting.

“All the people that are at our clinics are community based,” she said. “They are all excited to be that ray of hope and we’ve been dealing with people being sick for a year now.”

Carlson said that she anticipates having all local teachers and childcare providers vaccinated by March 13.

“We’re really excited that by Saturday anybody that was a teacher or worked in any of our school districts or our daycares have all had the private opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Carlson.

As of March 11, data from the state Department of Public Health showed approximately 75 percent of individuals age 75 and older and approximately 22 percent of the total population in Connecticut having received a first dose of the vaccine.

Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions

As rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine continues throughout the state, and other leading health metrics associated with deaths and hospitalizations are in a downward trend, Lamont is lifting certain restrictions that have been in effect since the start of the pandemic.

On Friday, March 19, the state’s travel advisory will be changed from a requirement to recommended guidance; all sports will be allowed to practice and compet,e subject to Department of Public Health guidance; gathering size limits will increase; and capacity limits will be eliminated for certain businesses and entities. Safety protocols such as face coverings, social distancing, and increased cleaning will remain in effect.

The lifting of certain state restrictions is welcomed by the business communities of Chester, Deep River, and Essex, which have faced numerous challenges during the pandemic.

“With the easing of restrictions, some of the most hard-hit industries, including the event, hospitality, restaurant, and personal service industries, will be able to get back to work and breathe a sigh of relief,” said Stacie DiNello, president of the Deep River Merchants Association.

Since the start of the pandemic, DiNello said that many businesses in Deep River that “were able to adapt their services when restrictions were put in place actually saw tremendous growth last year. We saw successful transitions to online retail sales, curbside and delivery food service, and collaborative efforts to shop local.”

“The Deep River community has continued its ongoing support for the most vulnerable of these businesses…[which] did not have the ability to convert to online sales or delivery just due to the nature of their product or service,” she continued.

The federal government has taken various steps since the start of the pandemic to provide aid to individuals, business and other entities facing financial difficulties. Last March, the federal government passed the $2.2 trillion federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

The most recent legislation, which was signed into law on March 11, is a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which provides funds for education, low-income families, and the small-business loan program, among other areas.

April 20, 2021

With Lamont’s State of Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic set to expire on April 20, the Courier asked Essex First Selectman Norman Needleman, who is also the state senator for the 33rd District, what that might mean for municipalities.

“I believe that the state guidance preempts most of what we would do anyway, and I think they are making good decisions up to this point,” said Needleman, who added later that he will be watching closely to see if any extensions or changes are made to the April 20 date by the governor.

Asked about key takeaways, a year into the pandemic, Needleman said, “There are a whole bunch of takeaways that are worth noting…One is that within a week or two of the pandemic and lock down, we had an enormous percentage of Americans that didn’t have food.”

Another important lesson was “learning that these germs do move around in the air and through touch, not that we’re going to stay masked, gloved, and locked in our houses forever, but just an awareness that things spread rapidly” and there are easy, preventative measures that can be taken against them.