Lamont asks residents to limit holiday travel

COVID-19 positivity rate improves slightly

With Connecticut’s COVID-19 positivity rate improving slightly, Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday warned residents that holiday travel and gatherings could threaten any progress the state has made since Thanksgiving. Lamont said residents should limit travel and spend the holidays only with their “immediate family.” In his case, that will mean spending the holiday with his wife, three kids and his daughter’s fiancé, some of whom will arrive from New York City.“I urge people to stay close to their homes as best as they can,” the governor said.

With Connecticut’s COVID-19 positivity rate improving slightly, Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday warned residents that holiday travel and gatherings could reverse any progress the state has made since Thanksgiving.

“I’m scared, if you go down to Fort Lauderdale, maybe you have a little party on New Year’s Eve, then you fly back and pretty soon you’re going back to high school or something like that,” Lamont said. “I’m urging with every bone in my body to be cautious. That’s howwe get through this.”

Lamont said residents should limit travel and spend the holidays only with their “immediate family.” In his case, that will mean his wife, three kids and his daughter’s fiancé, some of whom will arrive from New York City.

“I urge people to stay close to their homes as best as they can,” the governor said. “Go out for essential reasons, take a long walk outside. If we really are strict now, we’re going to have benefits early this spring.”

Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of public health, recommended that residents “limit the gatherings around Christmas and New Year’s and other holidays to as small as possible a group, close to your household.”

“If you are going to be joining someone outside your household for the holidays, wear a mask,” Gifford continued. “If you’re joining someone for a meal who’s not part of your household, the physical distance and opening your windows, and if the weather is permitting to be outside — all of those things are going to help lower risk.”

Lamont on Tuesday announced 1,745 new COVID-19 cases on 28,699 tests, for a rate of 6.1%. Connecticut seven-day positivity rate now stands just below 6%, the lowest its been in more than two weeks.

Though the dip in positivity rate could partly reflect a rise in asymptomatic patients getting tested before the holidays, officials say it’s an encouraging sign as the state hopes to contain the coronavirus.

“Things have calmed down and stabilized,” Lamont said Wednesday.

Connecticut currently has 1,155 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, down four from Tuesday. Hospitalizations have been largely flat in recent weeks, with barely any net change since the start of the month.

The state announced 33 additional coronavirus-linked deaths Wednesday, making 5,735 during the pandemic and 715 in December alone. The United States has now seen 323,510 COVID-19 deaths, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

Lamont said Wednesday that more than 2,000 residents had volunteered to help with pandemic response as part of the state’s Step Up Connecticut initiative.

That total includes more than 1,000 substitute teachers, more than 400 temporary nurse aides, more than 300 medical volunteers and more then 300 other non-medical volunteers, Lamont said.

Lamont encouraged anyone wishing to volunteer to visit ct.gov/stepupct to sign up for various roles.

“There’s room for all of you, and we’re trying to make it possible so we can relieve the pressure and stress,” Lamont said.