Infection increase won’t stop Phase 3
Connecticut’s coronavirus infections continue to increase slightly, but not enough for Gov. Ned Lamont to delay Thursday’s Phase 3 reopening of more indoor dining and private gatherings.
However in a candid admission, Lamont said Monday it’s still too early for him to consider going inside at a restaurant.
“Look, I’ll get there. I think so,” Lamont told reporters. “I’ve been pretty impressed with the restaurateurs. I’ve seen how careful they are. I see how careful they are about distancing. I’ll probably look in. If I see some of those plastic partitions, that would probably give me a little bit of confidence.”
The Department of Public Health on Monday reported an increase of four fatalities over the weekend, bringing the state’s pandemic total to 4,517. There was a net increase of 19 hospitalizations, for a total of 129.
In the seven-day total released on Monday, the total of 2,438 infections out of 169,305 tests is a 1.44 percent rate.
“If you go back to last week we had some catch-up data from some of the university test results that dated back beyond the prior week,” Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer who has led the governor’s response to the virus said, noting that national website have not recorded them.
In the region, Connecticut’s 1.6 percent rate compares to 1.5 percent in New Hampshire, 1.3 percent in New York, 1.0 percent in Massachusetts, and eight tenths of a percent in Vermont and Maine.
Lamont, who at 66 is in an age group that is susceptible to COVID, said he has eaten inside on a single occasion in the pandemic.
“I have, yep, once, next to a really big window,” Lamont said in his daily news briefing from the State Capitol. “If I can be outside, I am going to be outside as long as I can. Being outdoors for the last few months has been a big plus for our state and a big plus for our region, and I think that as we move from an outdoor culture to an indoor culture that’s going to be the variable that we have to watch like a hawk.”
Lamont said that in discussing the pandemic with fellow governors throughout the nation, it’s clear that restaurants do not represent the kind of threat to accelerate the spread of COVID-19 of bars, which were ordered closed in March and have not been allowed to reopen.
“Certainly compared to bars, restaurants have managed themselves pretty well,” Lamont said, noting that outdoor dining started on May 20 and partial-capacity indoor eating a month later. “I think our restaurants here in Connecticut have managed that very professionally.”
The 1.6 percent infection rate over the last week will not preclude the new 50 percent openings of indoor performing arts venues, the increase to three-quarters capacity in restaurants and 100-person gatherings at indoor events such as catered weddings.
“We think the event planners, just like the restaurants, are going to be much more careful about making sure the protocols are followed because they want to be able to keep their event venue open,” Lamont said.
“If we see a big change we’re not afraid to change strategies,” Lamont said.
The Department of Public Health on Monday reported an increase of four fatalities over the weekend, bringing the state’s pandemic total to 4,517. There was a net increase of 19 hospitalizations, for a total of 129.
In the seven-day total released on Monday, the total of 2,438 infections out of 169,305 tests is a 1.44 percent rate.
“If you go back to last week we had some catch-up data from some of the university test results that dated back beyond the prior week,” Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer who has led the governor’s response to the virus said, noting that national website have not recorded them.
In the region, Connecticut’s 1.6 percent rate compares to 1.5 percent in New Hampshire, 1.3 percent in New York, 1.0 percent in Massachusetts, and eight tenths of a percent in Vermont and Maine.