City officials: ‘Remain vigilant’ amid COVID rise

NEW HAVEN — The rate of new coronavirus cases in New Haven has increased recently, as it has statewide.

As a result, Mayor Justin Elicker and other city officials again advised residents to wear a mask, wash their hands and practice social distancing, as the officials provided an update Wednesday on the city’s efforts to deal with the virus.

Elicker said the city was up to 3,299 cases since the beginning of the pandemic in March. Health Director Marzita Bond said there have been 82 cases in the last two weeks, up from 20-odd cases in the prior two-week period.

“We want to remind individuals to remain vigilant, to really follow the safety protocols,” said Bond. “I do want to empathize with the community; I want to commend them for their efforts to safeguard themselves and others.

“I know that there’s a fatigue, a sense of wanting to get together with family gatherings and social gatherings, but it’s very critical,” she said.

Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey said in an email to Board of Education members Wednesday that a staff member at East Rock School tested positive for the virus, with the exposure coming outside of school. The New Haven Health Department conducted an investigation based on a report received from the administration, she said in the email obtained by the Register.

“No one will be required to self-quarantine due to this situation,” Tracey said in the email.

Elicker said the city had been seeing two to 10 cases per day over past months, but the average has ticked up to more than 10 per day recently.

“We’ve just seen a lot of sloppiness. And I think that, as members of the community, we have to be really direct with other people that are sloppy, in a way that’s respectful,” said Elicker, discussing where the city has seen cases originate.

“Just like the norm is now to wear a seatbelt, it’s respectful to other people to other people to wear your mask in an appropriate way,” he said. “We should be holding each other accountable to make sure that we get on top of this thing quickly this time, so it doesn’t get out of control.”

Bond said the city had seen cases stemming from family and social gatherings, as well as workplaces where people were not always wearing masks.

Among other updates, Dr. Mehul Dalal, the city’s health and human services director, said the city would continue to try to provide permanent housing and hotel rooms for homeless individuals during the winter months.

In conjunction with the state, approximately 300 people have been provided permanent housing in the New Haven area since the pandemic began, he said.

The city is seeking to increase that number, obtain approximately 150 hotel rooms from the state, and plans to make some socially-distanced shelter beds available as well, he said.

Elicker said Murphy Medical Associates had stopped providing coronavirus tests in the city as of Monday, as the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, Fair Haven Community Health and area hospitals have gained the capacity to appropriately provide testing options for residents.

Elicker said the city would consider going back to Phase 2 gathering size restrictions associated with the virus if the number of cases were to hit the threshold established for a “red alert” level by the state. Gov. Ned Lamont established that capacity in an Oct. 13 exective order.

Elicker said he would have liked to have greater flexibility to reimpose the safety measures, noting that a 14-day average — the tabulation used to establish that power for municipalities — may not catch a trend in appropriate time.

“(T)his thing can very quickly get out of hand,” said Elicker. “We need to be very proactive to make sure that we’re keeping our community safe.”