Town of East Hartford Issues Warning Ahead of the Winter Holidays as COVID-19 Cases Continue to Increase

East Hartford, CT— The Town of East Hartford has seen a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases during December.  Our number of cases has increased 94% from 394 during the two weeks before Thanksgiving to 764 during the first two weeks of December. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,247 cases and 108 deaths have occurred among residents of East Hartford. Health officials are warning residents that holiday gathering with members outside your household unit will further intensify the spread of COVID-19 in our community, and lead to more hospitalizations and deaths.  Many families in our community will continue to go through the pain of losing a loved one to COVID. 

“We encourage residents to take the necessary precautions this holiday season to slow the spread of the virus in our community” says Mayor Marcia Leclerc. “If people disregard recommendations for a safe winter holiday, we’re concerned the daily COVID-19 case counts, hospitalizations and deaths will be even higher than the current post-Thanksgiving spike seen over the past two weeks.”

Traveling to see family and friends should be avoided this year.

“COVID-19 is very active in our community and you should expect at least one person in any gathering to be in their infectious period of COVID-19, even if they are not showing symptoms. One person can spread the virus to multiple individuals in as little as 15 minutes,” said Director of Health & Social Services Laurence Burnsed.

If you are considering travel or hosting a holiday party with extended family and friends, ask yourself if others attending are at increased risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. The best way to protect yourself and others this year is to postpone travel, stay home and celebrate only with those in your household.

The Town of East Hartford wants residents to know how they can protect themselves and others from COVID-19 this holiday season. Individuals and families should adopt the following precautions in their observances of Christmas or other winter holidays:

• Host a virtual celebration with family and friends. Schedule a time to eat a meal virtually, sing holiday carols, or make holiday decorations together.
• Gather virtually for a gift exchange.
• Attend a religious ceremony virtually, if possible. 
• If you decide to celebrate with friends and extended family, keep the number of attendees small and outdoors to enjoy the winter weather.

In addition to these holiday precautions, we advise residents to continue following additional precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Monitor your health daily. If you have any symptoms, regardless of how mild they may seem, do not leave home or attend any gatherings. Leave the house only to seek medical care or to get tested for COVID-19.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a mask when around people who don’t live in your household.
• Put a 6-feet of distance between yourself and people who don’t live in your household
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

We ask the community to follow safe holiday recommendations so older family members and those with compromised health don’t catch the virus from you or someone else this holiday season. Do your part so your family members live to see next year’s holiday.

The Town of East Hartford and East Hartford Health Director Laurence Burnsed will be releasing regular video messages, addressing important COVID-19 information and answering commonly-raised questions. Please watch this week’s update at this link. All future COVID-19-related videos will be available on the Health Department page at www.easthartfordct.gov/public-health-covid-19-videos.

Please continue to monitor our website for regular COVID-19 updates at www.easthartfordct.gov.