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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said this week that approximately 85 percent of school districts across the state have elected to drop mandatory facial coverings as the mandate expired on Monday, Feb. 28.
However, while the state is loosening up restrictions as the country recovers from the Omicron spike of COVID-19 infections, Lamont advised that some parts of the state - including some of its largest cities - should continue to mask up due to the risk of spreading the virus.
Specifically, Lamont mentioned Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury, three of the areas in the state still being most impacted by the ongoing pandemic.
“What do you want to do? You want to be like Ron DeSantis,” Lamont said during his latest news briefing, mentioning the Florida governor. “You want to fine New Haven if they want to leave the mask mandate in place a little bit longer? You want to cut off their state funding like they do in Florida? I think we got it about right.”
While the majority of districts have lifted mask requirements, some, such as Hamden, have opted to continue mandating facial coverings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and avoid any potential interruptions to classes.
“Connecticut is seeing a dramatic decline in cases caused by the Omicron variant, and children over the age of 5 have had the ability to get vaccinated for more than three months now," Lamont previously said.
"With this in mind, I think we are in a good position to phase out the requirement that masks be worn in all schools statewide and shift the determination on whether to require this to the local level.”
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