Woman with virus to vacate apartment

BRIDGEPORT — A Stratford woman with COVID-19 agreed Wednesday to vacate her apartment to avoid being evicted.

In a settlement reached before Superior Court Judge Walter Spader, Jamaira Watson agreed to vacate the Barnum Avenue apartment she shares with her mother by Feb. 1.

In return for both Watson and her mother leaving, their landlord, Judith Esquivel, will pay Watson $750.

“Although this may not be the best agreement you believe it is fair under the circumstances?” the judge asked her. “Yes,” Watson said.

While Gov. Ned Lamont recently signed an extension of a moratorium on evictions, there are exceptions.

In October, Esquivel, the owner of the apartment house on Barnum Avenue in Stratford where Watson, 30, lives with her mother, filed an eviction suit claiming one of the exceptions — that she intends to use Watson’s apartment as her primary residence.

The lawsuit also claims Watson and her mother have not paid rent since

April, their lease expired in August and there have been complaints of marijuana smoke coming from their apartment.

She provided paperwork to the court showing she had recently tested positive for COVID-19. She said she is symptomatic and seriously ill.

“I was instructed by medical professionals to not leave my apartment because I am contagious,” she said, adding that her mother is also showing symptoms of the virus.

Watson said she lost her job and she and her mother are unable to afford alternative accommodations.