CT Coronavirus Rate Hits 4.1 Percent, Not Seen Since June

CONNECTICUT — The coronavirus infection rate in the state reached 4.1 percent, a level not seen since early June, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday. There were 22 additional hospitalizations in the past 24 hours.

The spike was "not unexpected," as infection rates are trending up around the country, Lamont said, noting the United States saw an all-time high in average daily coronavirus cases Monday. Health officials are nevertheless "watching this very, very carefully," he said.

"This is a really important month for us to get it right," the governor said during a news conference called Tuesday in West Hartford to discuss Election Day preparations and procedures.

Following a weekend when the state recorded over 2,000 new positive coronavirus cases, Lamont warned that bars violating mask and distancing requirements were a significant source of the problem and said they could trigger tighter restrictions.

The governor said he and Acting Public Health Commissioner Diedre Gifford had a call with all the municipal leaders in the state's coronavirus red zones.

"We let them know all the different sanctions we have, including closing down a bar that is egregiously violating our standards," Lamont said.

The Brickyard Pub in Fairfield was shut down and the owner of La Costeñita Bar & Restaurant in Danbury arrested after police said they were tipped off to mask and capacity limits violations in the establishments. Lamont said law enforcement officials learned of the violations through social media.

The Brickyard Pub has "gotten some notoriety for flagrantly disregarding the rules," Lamont said. Those who patronize the establishments that are violating virus regulations "are not only endangering yourselves, you're endangering your families, you are making it more likely that your community, in this case Fairfield, will have to close down a school."

But when asked whether the new spike in the coronavirus positivity rate might affect regulations for restaurants, Lamont laid the choice at the feet of the eateries: "If you get it right then we can stay open. If you can't get it right, then we can't keep everybody open."

The governor dismissed a suggestion that the state might take a more active role in policing coronavirus regulations in bars and restaurants, saying such enforcement was the purview of local law enforcement authorities.

Lamont also said that few red zone municipalities, which have the option to revert to phase 2 of the state's reopening plan and limit restaurant capacity and the size of gatherings, have exercised that option. He said currently, he was not inclined to have the state direct them otherwise.

"But that could change," he said. "We've gone from 2 percent to 4 percent in just a couple of weeks."

See also: 15 College Students Suspended For Coronavirus Violations

Bar Owner Charged With Violating Coronavirus Restrictions