Hartford has reinstated its indoor mask mandate in response to the recent statewide surge in COVID-19 cases.
The mandate, which Hartford initially dropped in November, will now remain in place through the end of January, city officials announced Monday.
Exceptions will be made for those with relevant medical conditions, those under the age of two, and those eating or drinking, in addition to certain circumstances inside private offices and office buildings.
“We all hope that the omicron surge will soon peak and that we’ll see case rates fall, but with the current numbers, we’ve got to do whatever we can, even at the margins,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. “In putting this indoor mask requirement back in place right now, we’re thinking first and foremost about those frontline workers who have no choice but to interact with the public at large, and who deserve whatever additional protection we can give them.”
Fueled by the spread of the delta and omicron variants, Connecticut’s COVID-19 positivity rate now stands at 21.5%. Infection numbers are exploding across the country, and are expected to rise further still as a result of holiday gatherings and increased travel over the past two weeks.
