State to lift most limits on May 19
Masking will remain; stages contingent on virus, vaccine metrics
Connecticut will lift all COVID-19 restrictions with the exception of the mask mandate on May 19, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday.
The state plans to move forward in two stages, Lamont announced, both contingent on declining coronavirus metrics and rising vaccination rates.
First, on May1, the state will lift all outdoor restrictions, including allowing bars to operate outdoors without serving food. Then, on May 19, the state will do away with the remaining restrictions. That means bars will be able to open indoors, event venue and stadium capacity limits will be removed and social distancing requirements will be dropped. In addition, gathering restrictions for private events will be eliminated.
“I think we’ve earned May 1 as a time wecanbeoutside,” Lamont said at a Monday afternoon press briefing. “Andlet’s see howitgoes. Assuming it goes well, May 19 we can open up some more.”
Lamont also said that he’s lifting the social distancing requirement in part because businesses, especially restaurants, have been diligent about keeping up safety precautions on their own.
“At this point I think I’m going to pass over that judgment to the restaurants because they have pretty good judgment on how to do it safely,” the governor said.
In a news release, the Connecticut Restaurant Association praised Lamont and said that “the faster we move on from this pandemic, the faster our businesses and our economy can recover.”
“More than a year after this pandemic began, local restaurant owners and employees can finally see light at the end of the tunnel,” said Scott Dolch, the association’s executive director, in a press release. “Today’s news gives restaurants a plan and a timeline for recovery.”
The one exception to the reopening is the indoor mask mandate, which will remain in effect at least until the governor’s emergency powers expire on May 20. If that expiration date remains in place, the state legislature could also mandate masking.
“I think we’re going to mandate that you continue to wear the mask in school ... probably we’re going to require indoor masking a little longer, until you’re vaccinated,” Lamont said.
The governor’s reopening announcement comes as the state pushes forward with its vaccination effort — about half of Connecticut residents have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to The New York Times, placing Connecticut among the top three fastest states for per capita vaccinations.
Even so, the state’s cases, hospitalizations and deaths are not as low as they were over the quiet summer months, when the virus seemed to temporarily loosen its hold on Connecticut.
Lamont and his team said at Monday’s press briefing that the governor consulted with one public health expert — acting public health commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford — about the reopening decision.
“The commissioner ... spoke to her counterparts in other states to get the answers that the governor needed,” said Paul Mounds, the governor’s chief of staff.
The governor also added that he’s in constant communication with other health care providers such as the hospital systems.
But some medical experts say they have concerns about the reopening.
Dr. Ulysses Wu, the system director of infectious diseases at Hartford HealthCare, said there are ways to reopen safely, but that he doesn’t agree with Lamont’s plan to drop the social distancing requirement in mid-May.
“I still believe social distancing needs to happen at this point,” he said.
The key to a safe reopening, Wu said, is for residents to continue masking, social distancing and hand washing, even after vaccination.
“Do I think we can do it? Absolutely. But we’ve got to do it safely,” Wu said.
Dr. Richard Martinello, Yale New Haven Health’s medical director of infection prevention, said he has particular concerns about a lack of social distancing indoors.
“Especially if it’s a situation where people aren’t masked, if this is a bar, I think that lack of physical distancing is going to be problematic if we continue to see levels of COVIDin our community similar to what we have right now,” Martinello said.
He added, though, there are a lot of factors to consider.
Martinello pointed to ongoing vaccination efforts, which help to control the virus, but also rising circulation of more contagious variants, which are not helpful. Plus, he said, there are other potential reasons to reopen, including that it could help ease mental health concerns for people who have struggled during the pandemic.
“There’s some real pros and cons to this,” Martinello said. “I think I lean toward being very concerned that this is premature.”
But it’s difficult to say exactly when is the right time to reopen, according to Dr. Luke Davis, a clinician at Yale New Haven Hospital and an epidemiologist at Yale’s School of Public Health.
“I don’t know what the best time or the optimal time would be,” Davis said. “But I think, just given that we haven’t seen a dramatic spike in cases over the last four weeks or so since the last relaxing of restrictions was put forward ... I’m open to seeing what’s happening in the coming weeks.”
Weekly positive test rate dips
Also on Monday, Lamont announced that Connecticut surpassed 8,000 coronavirus-linked deaths, a grim milestone even as the state continues to rollout vaccinations to all adults.
The state reported 19 additional deaths since Friday, for a total of 8,014 coronavirus-linked deaths since the pandemic began.
The state on Monday also reported 2,736 newly identified coronavirus cases out of 101,952 tests administered, for a daily positivity rate of 2.7%. That rate is slightly higher than the state reported at the end of last week, but still significantly lower than the rates reported over the winter peak.
The weekly average positivity rate, which is a more stable metric than the daily rate, dipped slightly on Monday. After hovering above 3% last week, it dropped to 2.9% on Monday.
Ho s p i t a l i z a t i o n s , however, rose slightly on Monday. The state reported the number rose by eight over the weekend, for a total of 494 people currently hospitalized with COVID19.
In total, Connecticut has now seen more than 330,000 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. Nationwide, there have been more than 31.7 million cases and a total of 567,649 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.