Coronavirus Danbury: 28 New Cases, 1 Death, As Phase 3 Begins

DANBURY, CT — Any joy for the start of Phase 3 of the state's reopening plan was muted in the city on Thursday as officials continued to wrestle with stubborn coronavirus numbers.

Danbury reported 28 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, and 18 on Wednesday.

"If you are in a vulnerable population, if you are over 60, I do not recommend going into a confined space right now," Mayor Mark Boughton warned during his semi-weekly Facebook livestream Thursday evening.

The concern came the same day as the start of Connecticut's third reopening phase, which increases indoor restaurant and personal service capacity from 50 to 75 percent. It also allows for increased capacity at private social commercial gatherings like weddings as well as religious services, graduation ceremonies, outdoor entertainment and indoor performing arts.

Boughton said the public schools remain on track to open with a hybrid attendance model, beginning Oct. 26. Superintendent Sal Pascarella told parents in a letter dated Oct. 2 that a review of the data by the district's senior administration and medical team showed continued community spread of COVID-19, but a trending down of the numbers since the outbreak's peak.

Just as restaurants around the state were flipping tables right-side up again, Gov. Ned Lamont announced he is now considering giving towns with a high volume of coronavirus cases discretion to stay at the second reopening phase.

"I think we are thinking about this on a town-by-town basis and perhaps giving those towns some discretion not to move to phase three, to stay at phase two," Lamont said at a news conference Thursday.