New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Gov: CT ‘flattening the curve’
Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday said Connecticut’s COVID-19 metrics have stayed relatively flat, and appeared hopeful about the state’s progress as students return to schools.
“I see the incredibly high infections and hospitalizations in those southern states and I’m pleased that Connecticut, because we’re 84 percent vaccinated, is relatively
flat,” Lamont said, speaking to reporters after a news conference in Danbury. “Doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods but we are what they used to say — remember in the early days of COVID — flattening the curve.”
He said the next three weeks would be important as college students return and schools welcome back students. “I think we’ll have a really better idea by the end of September,” he said. ‘I think it’s gonna be positive — I think the vaccinations we’ll be able to show are working.”
The governor’s optimistic outlook came as all but two of Connecticut’s eight counties — Windham and Tolland — remained marked as areas of “high” community transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state’s daily summary showed 788 new infections reported — coincidentally the same exact number for two straight days — with a positivity rate of 3.44 percent out of 22,892 tests. Hospitalizations fell by two, bringing the state census to 378 patients.
A close look at case numbers, positive test rates and hospital patient numbers shows that it’s premature to declare a peak of coronavirus in the summertime delta infections, but there are signs of slowing. Positive test rates, for example, have remained mostly in the 3.4 percent range for a couple of weeks.
The number of new daily cases has inched up, looking at 7-day averages, but not nearly as fast as the climb from mid-July to the second week of August.
But the infection rate in Connecticut is still far lower than in other states, particularly in the South.
A Florida judge ruled Friday that school districts can require students to wear masks, overruling a ban on mask mandates put in place by the state’s governor.
Lamont signaled Friday he would not pursue reviving the statewide indoor mask mandate, noting Connecticut still has a mask mandate in place for unvaccinated people. He said cities like Danbury which have instituted local mask orders “are pretty strict about it.”
“I think it’s working pretty well right now, but we’ll have a better idea how well it’s working by the end of next month,” Lamont added.
The governor faced sharp criticism over the last three days from groups calling for a renewed state mask mandate, and from antimask protesters. On Thursday, the Connecticut Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance demanded Lamont reinstate an indoor statewide mask policy, saying he was not doing so “in defiance of science.”
One day earlier, anti-mask protesters shut down a back-toschool roundtable discussion the governor was a part of in Cheshire. The event saw the governor escorted to his vehicle as protesters shouted and cursed at him from close range.
At Friday’s event, a news conference around getting undocumented state residents vaccinated, Lamont and a host of state and federal lawmakers sounded off on a familiar message: get vaccinated.
“It’s how we’re going to protect our children who cannot get vaccinated,” said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5. “So as the adults in these communities, it is our job to protect them and make sure they can go back to school and have safe and health environments,” she added.
State Rep. Ken Gucker, D-Danbury, stressed the point by revealing he had fallen ill with what he said was the delta variant of the coronavirus. “The only reason why I am not in the ICU fighting for my life is because I got the vaccine the moment that it was available,” the Democrat, whose district includes parts of Danbury, New Fairfield and Ridgefield, said. “Because of having that vaccine, I’m not in Danbury Hospital right now, I’m at home recovering with my family.”
He encouraged anyone who is vaccinated and starts to feel unwell to get tested. “That’s what this thing hides as,” he said “it makes you think that you are dealing with a bad cold, but meanwhile you’re out spreading this to people who are vulnerable.”