Conn. sees positivity rate increase to 8.3%

In recent days, Gov. Ned Lamont has signaled a growing desire to return to a sense of normalcy despite threats of new variants and a daily positivity rate in Connecticut not seen since the worst of the pandemic last year — a reversal for a leader who was among the first in the nation to lock down his state in March of 2020.

On Tuesday, the state reported a daily positive test rate of 8.3 percent and the discovery of a second case of the omicron variant, testing Lamont’s resolve to not impose further COVID restrictions. Hospitalizations, a key COVID-19 metric for the governor, jumped by a net 25 patients for a total of 525, the highest since February.

The second omicron case was identified as a man in his 20s living in Fairfield County. He began developing mild symptoms last week and had positive at-home and molecular COVID-19 tests, the governor’s office said. Like the first case in Connecticut, the man had traveled recently to New York City, though not to the same anime convntion as th first.

“Stay safe,” Lamont said on Twitter. “The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones is to get your vaccine and get your booster.”

His comments, including that tweet, reflect a change of thinking in how to handle this phase of the pandemic, a change that’s shared by other Democratic leaders. It’s an emphasis on vaccinations and booster shots, decidedly without restricting the day-to-day lives of residents — and absolutely not even temporarily limiting business activity.

On Sunday morning, Lamont appeared as a guest on CBS’s Face the Nation, a day after his office reported the first confirmed omicron case

in the state — a Hartford County man in his 60s who was fully immunized against COVID-19 and developed mild symptoms on Nov. 27.

Asked by host Margaret Brennan whether he was going to issue new restrictions, the governor said Connecticut residents are “doing the right thing.”

“They don't need me pushing,” he added.

Then on Monday morning, he held a press conference at a pop-up vaccine clinic at Union Station in New Haven with a klatch of other top Democrats including the state’s chief health official, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3 — only to reiterate a message he’s long promoted: Vaccinations, which greatly reduce a person’s risk of death and severe illness, are the best defense against COVID-19.

Later Monday, the governor, appearing before a crowd of 1,100 at Foxwoods Resort Casino, said to the state’s restaurant industry: “You’re staying open.”

The comments punctuate what Lamont has repeatedly said in recent weeks: He is not thinking about imposing further rules such as a broader mask mandate, limits on gatherings or new vaccine mandates, even facing rising numbers and a new variant.

“People are doing the right thing without some heavy-handed mandate being necessary,” Lamont told reporters Monday. “It’s going to be steady as she goes but who knows what curveball COVID throws us next week.”

The governor has underscored Connecticut’s status as one of the most vaccinated states in the nation, putting it in a distinct position compared to last year to fight the virus. An increase of cases ahead of the holidays and concern over the omicron variant have convinced more people to get boosters, he said Monday.

“Remember, we were a little less compelled a month or two ago,” he said. “We are compelled now.”

The hope is that Connecticut’s high vaccination rate would stave off a surge in COVID-19 infections that was seen last winter. To some degree, that’s happening, compared with other states.

The medical community has pushed hard for residents to get a booster shot amid concerns over immunity — and some say new restrictions should, and will, happen.

“The problem with masking is it’s become an ideology,” said Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist for Hartford HealthCare. “Anytime you take a commonsense principle and turn it into an ideological principle, its efficacy is going to wane.”

Wu said he believes restrictions will return in some fashion as COVID-19 cases continue to raise.

“I think they will come ... once the numbers start going up,” he said. “Government action tends to lag cases by a good couple months.”

For now at least, Lamont’s director of communications, Max Reiss, reiterated Tuesday that the governor would continue his push for vaccinations. “If we are serious about ensuring that the most people are protected, then the best tool to do that at this time is vaccinations, not a group of new restrictions,” he said.

Another threat is looming with the rapid spread of the omicron variant, identified last month in South Africa that has been connected with two cases in Connecticut. Though little is known yet about omicron, officials are concerned that it could be more contagious than the delta variant, which accounts for nearly all the new infections in Connecticut.

“Here’s what you got to know: You got to know that maybe with each of these variants coming on, we can’t always prevent mild illness. But you got to know that the boosters and the vaccines are keeping you out of the hospital and are keeping you out of the morgue,” Lamont said Monday at the event encouraging booster shots.

“It is amazingly effective when it comes to preventing complications. And that’s the message you got to give to all your friends and family.”

Instituting stricter mandates at this point in the pandemic, such as the vaccine mandate for private employers, recently announced by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, can be difficult, said Art Caplan, founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a Ridgefield resident. De Blasio also required vaccination proof for restaurant customers.

Caplan said a response to the rise of cases should consist of a threepronged approach that includes increased testing, masking, and vaccines. Officials should also start planning for when COVID-19 medicine including the pills from Merck and Pfizer get approved by federal regulators, he said.

“We don’t even want to get into debates about it, but we need to go back to a tougher across-theboard policy,” Caplan said.

Lamont’s handling of the pandemic, which has earned him praise from Democrats and many Republicans, will likely be a key claim in his reelection campaign next year

But the governor has also faced strong pushback for his decisions, notably his vaccine mandates. And in August, he largely relinquished control over mask mandates, one of the most politically divisive aspects of the pandemic, leaving it up to local officials to decide.

Many municipal leaders have dropped their local mask mandates, and have indicated their trepidation about bringing them back even as cases rise.

While he’s still in charge of the state’s pandemic response — at least until February when his executive authority is next due to expire — the governor has increasingly urged residents to make their own decisions about what’s safe.

“We’re at the point where the governor is making it clear, if you’re somebody who wants be more cautious you can do that, and you should do that,” Reiss said.

Still, Reiss pushed back against the idea that politics is factoring into that decision, saying the governor “hasn’t shied away” from mandating masks in schools, for example, which has led to strong pushback from some groups including parents.