Here are 3 mistakes Gov. Lamont is making
Coronavirus infections and hospitalizations are climbing in Connecticut — despite the vaccine.
In the early weeks following the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine in Connecticut, signs were pointing to a steady easing of the pandemic’s unrelenting grip. Infection rates and deaths began tumbling quickly. With the elderly and those in nursing homes protected against the coronavirus, the closely-watched metrics gave hope that we were finally winning a war that has devastated lives and livelihoods.
But that sense of impending victory has faded with two developments. First, a new variant, originating in Europe, has taken root in Connecticut and is spreading quickly. Second — and this one is more a self-inflicted wound — Connecticut is trying to return to normal too quickly after a year of cautious progress.
The ill-advised charge is being led by Gov. Ned Lamont, who has put more focus on the state’s impressive vaccination rate than our return to the ranks of high infection states. As of Wednesday, Connecticut was No. 4 in daily cases per capita, trailing only Michigan, New York and New Jersey. While Connecticut may be vaccinating its population rapidly, the level of protection we now have does not warrant the laxity now being seen.
Despite clear, cautionary advice from local doctors and pleas from officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control, Lamont on March 19 restored indoor dining to 100% capacity, allowed indoor gatherings at commercial venues of up to 100 people and removed caps on retail stores, offices, houses of worship, gyms, libraries and salons. The message included the usual warnings about masks and distancing, but it was clearly a drop the flag moment. The vaccines work. Spring is here. Let’s go.
We were then — and still are — at a critical moment with the chance to act more prudently and let the vaccines get ahead of the virus. But, instead, the virus is getting ahead of us. There are several mistakes the governor is making that he needs to move quickly to correct before the situation deteriorates further:
1. Lamont is not listening closely enough to the experts
In the days leading up to the March 19 reopening, experts across the state sounded the alarm.
Joseph Fauver, part of a group at Yale tracing the B117 variant in Connecticut, was blunt in his assessment: “I think it’s premature,” he said. “We should wait until we can continue to increase vaccination coverage, until more folks across the state are fully vaccinated and we see how B117 plays out before the quote-unquote reopening happens.”
Federal officials have been equally blunt in their warnings that governors were moving too quickly and have repeatedly implored them to slow down. The CDC’s guidance for vaccinated people — not the population in general — warns against large gatherings. Under the Lamont plan, an indoor wedding with 100 people, some vaccinated, others not, is just fine.
Despite clear, cautionary advice from local doctors and pleas from officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control, Lamont on March 19 restored indoor dining to 100% capacity, allowed indoor gatherings at commercial venues of up to 100 people and removed caps on retail stores, offices, houses of worship,
gyms, libraries and salons.
Why does the governor think he knows better?
Lamont himself admitted there was opposition to his plan:
“Was it unanimous? No,” Lamont said in early March. “[Some said] ‘Why not wait? Why not wait?
There are variants we don’t know exactly. We could wait.’ But I think there was general consensus that we know what works. We know we have capacity at our hospitals. We know we can turn and change if we have to.”
Despite warning signs everywhere, Lamont pushed forward. And now we are again seeing the numbers spike up, with just about every town in Connecticut posting a red alert warning due to the concentration of COVID-19.
2. Hospitalizations are not just about capacity
One of the more troubling danger signs has been a steady increase in hospitalizations, which have jumped more than 20% over the last 10 days. As of Wednesday, Connecticut had 513 patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
At Yale New Haven Hospital, a particularly disturbing trend is emerging, with younger people showing up in greater numbers. Those under its care, the hospital said, included a 21-year-old on a ventilator.
Speaking about the climbing hospitalization rate at a news conference earlier in the week, Lamont focused on the question of capacity as opposed to the human toll of seeing more and more people sick enough to end up in a COVID19 unit.
Hospitalizations are “creeping up,” Lamont said, adding there remains “tons of capacity” in hospitals and there is “nothing to worry about there.”
“It’s a younger age group,” he said. “They are getting infected. Maybe they are a little more casual than they should be, but I think in terms of capacity in our hospitals, I still feel pretty confident.”
After a year of acute sickness and death, the specter of rapidly increasing hospitalizations should not be a conversation about capacity. While those in the hospital are dying at a slower rate, these are still people suffering from an acute illness with potential long-term consequences.
We didn’t need to be in this position.
3. The recent rollbacks were premature, but Lamont won’t admit it
In announcing the reopening plan in early March, Lamont acknowledged the tenuous nature of the improvement we’d seen in Connecticut since the beginning of the year and said he hoped to avoid any rollbacks so long as the numbers continue to decline.
“I hope to God that we don’t have to turn back this time, that the metrics stay in a positive direction,” Lamont said, in early March.
They didn’t stay positive. Now, the numbers show a dangerous trend. Positivity is up, infection rates are climbing and hospitalizations have jumped over the past 10 days. The one metric that has continued to trend downward, thankfully, is deaths.
But Lamont has held a hard line in recent days when asked about the prospect of rolling back the reopening plan. That is unfortunate and unwise. The governor must recognize that his decision to remove or reduce capacity limits from restaurants, indoor events, retail stores and other locations was premature. He should undo some of those changes until the vaccine program can protect a greater share of every age group.
The governor also must recognize that there has long been a gap between the rules and the reality. So while he states publicly that the new guidelines still will require 6-foot separation and mask wearing, it doesn’t take a ton of imagination to see how quickly those practices will fade. The March 19 reopening sent a clear message to Connecticut: We’re just about back to normal; it’s OK to start dropping your guard.
It was absolutely the wrong message to send.
The desire for normalcy is powerful. The hope the vaccine has instilled in us is real. The impatience to break out of our isolation is acute.
But Gov. Lamont has unnecessarily pushed too far, too fast. Connecticut proved its resiliency through the dark months of both the first wave last spring and the second wave over the winter. We had more in us. We still have more in us.
We need the governor to reassess his decisions and return Connecticut to a safer place.