Danbury Coronavirus: Boughton Dispels Rumors, Updates Death Toll

DANBURY, CT — Mayor Mark Boughton reported that the death toll from the new coronavirus is now 63 in his nightly livestreamed news conference on Monday. There are 1,250 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Boughton also fielded questions from viewers about Gov. Ned Lamont's Executive Order which goes into effect Monday night, mandating the wearing of masks in certain circumstances.

"If you were to violate an Executive Order signed by the governor, technically it's a felony," Boughton said. But he also made it clear that law enforcement officers will not be arresting violators, nor will they be entering retail spaces to break up assemblies that are not practicing social distancing. "I don't have enough cops to do that," the mayor said.

Boughton stressed that residents are only required to wear a mask when they are amongst a large group of people, or go into a store, or are breaking with the 6-foot social distancing recommendation. He also said that a bandana is a perfectly acceptable substitute for the hard-to-come-by medical masks.

The mayor also dispelled a "rumor" that some non-essential retail operations would be reopening on May 1, and the schools on May 15. He reiterated that he did not envision schools opening before the fall, and said it was more likely there would be a phasing-in of retail, some time after May 20. That is the date Lamont gave as the deadline for his state panel of experts to assess what should reopen when in Connecticut.

"But May 1st? Not the answer," Boughton said. "I don't know where that's coming from, but I heard that, too,"

Connecticut reported another 204 deaths and 1,853 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases Monday, which were some of the biggest single-day increases since the pandemic began.

There was a net increase of 18 new hospitalizations in Connecticut after two consecutive days of decreases.

The new figures bring Connecticut's totals to 18,815 cases, 1,331 deaths and 1,919 current hospitalizations. A total of 62,806 patients have been tested.