By Paul Hughes, Republican-American
HARTFORD — Connecticut can be expected to follow new federal masking guidelines based on Gov. Ned Lamont’s comments Tuesday. The governor made his comments before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its own updated recommendations.
The CDC is now recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. with 50 or more new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the previous seven days.
Also, the nation’s health protection agency is recommending indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors at schools nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.
The governor’s office, state Department of Public Health and state Department of Education will have updates on state policy in the coming days after the updated CDC guidance is reviewed, said Max Reiss, Lamont’s communications director.
In Connecticut, the governor’s office observed that only Hartford and New London counties have weekly case counts that come close to the CDC threshold. Lamont’s latest emergency order requires people who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear face coverings in most indoor public settings.
Lamont stated Tuesday he would be inclined to follow any changes the CDC makes in its masking guidelines, including recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks in indoor settings.
“If this is the way they end up going, we’ll probably continue to follow their lead and say that would be our recommendation, as well,” he said during a late-morning news conference in Hartford.
The Democratic governor also said he is likely to adhere to CDC masking guidelines for school settings, but he is leaning against a mask mandate. At this time, only youths ages 12 and older are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I think I’m moving toward guidance, and I think I would probably tend to track what the CDC has recommended,” Lamont said.
He was asked to clarify his definition of guidance.
“I think guidance means guidance right now. Let me see what changes,” Lamont said. “As I said, look where we were three weeks ago, look where we are today. Give me another couple of weeks and see whether we are Florida or we’re Connecticut. If we’re Connecticut, I think I’d give a little more discretion because we have earned it. We’re vaccinated. We don’t have community spread, and many towns have herd immunity. But two weeks, you know, stuff maybe happening. We’ve got to see.”
Earlier this week, the CDC reported Florida accounted for one-fifth of the country’s new infections last week, more than any other state. There were 57,161 cases compared to 1,092 in Connecticut.
Lamont also said towns and cities, school districts, private businesses and nonprofit organizations are free to impose their own coronavirus precautions, including requiring proof of vaccination or mask wearing.
“Look, every town, every business, every school has discretion to have stricter standards if they see fit,” he said.
The Connecticut Education Association, the larger of the state’s two teacher unions, advocated for a universal mask mandate in schools following the release of the updated CDC guidelines.
“Safety is and must remain a top priority as we return to all in-person classes in the fall, and we expect the state to ensure that all school districts follow the CDC’s new recommendations to keep everyone in our school communities safe,” CEA President Kate Dias said.
Using his emergency powers, Lamont recently reauthorized the Department of Education and state Office of Early Childhood to set operational and safety rules for school and child care settings, including mandating the wearing of masks or other face coverings.
The Office of Early Childhood is continuing to generally require children ages 3 and older in child care and youth camps to wear masks indoors, and all staff, vaccinated or unvaccinated, are required to wear mask indoors but not outdoors.
Lamont said his emergency powers end Sept. 30, so any mandates he might impose in response to the updated CDC guidelines would expire at that time, too.
“That is why I think it is time now to start involving the legislature to see where their head is at on this stuff,” he said.
The Democrat-controlled House and Senate earlier this month voted to approve a fifth extension of the public health and civil preparedness emergencies that Lamont first declared in March 2020.
Lamont noted the legislature would have oversight of any emergency orders. A temporary change to the two emergency powers statutes gives a select committee of the six top legislative leaders the ability to veto executive orders the governor issues through March 20, 2021.
