FAIRFIELD, CT — It is unclear if Fairfield will be able to distribute nearly 8,000 coronavirus test kits Thursday as planned, and state and local officials are citing shipping delays.
“At this point, we don’t know when to expect the test kits,” First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said Wednesday evening in an email to residents. “The Emergency Management Team will work as quickly as we can to distribute the tests as soon as we receive them.”
Kupchick instructed residents to visit fairfieldct.org beginning 8 a.m. Thursday for test distribution updates. The roughly 7,700 kits, which have two tests each, were previously set to be given out noon to 5 p.m. Thursday at Roger Ludlowe Middle School to residents with coronavirus symptoms or known exposure to the virus. The distribution event was part of a state plan to give out 3 million kits.
Demand for testing soared during Christmas week, as residents prepared to travel or visit with friends, outpacing availability across the state’s network of 400 testing sites.
The test kit giveaway plan hit a snag Wednesday, when Gov. Ned Lamont announced in a news release that the tests were delayed from arriving in Connecticut, citing “a shipping and distribution bottleneck on the West Coast.”
The announcement came as the state hit a record high positivity rate for the second day in a row, with 17.78 percent of 42,295 coronavirus tests coming out positive in 24 hours. The number of beds occupied by people who have tested positive for the virus in Connecticut climbed by 150 Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,113. According to state health officials, 73.9 percent of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are not fully vaccinated.
In Fairfield, 634 coronavirus cases have been reported since Monday, according to town data. The town more than doubled its record for most cases reported in a day on Monday, with 408, compared to its previous high of 187 cases Dec. 21.
