Danbury Coronavirus: Boughton Sees A 3-Tiered Re-Opening

DANBURY, CT — Mayor Mark Boughton reported there were no more deaths in the city in the past 24 hours that were attributed to the new coronavirus, and just two more confirmed cases. The numbers made it a "good day," the mayor said.

During his nightly livestreamed newscast, Boughton speculated on what Gov. Ned Lamont's phased-in reopening of the state might resemble. The mayor envisioned that businesses involving the least interpersonal contact — he used law offices and accounting firms as examples — would be allowed to open first, with a small percentage of employees. That number would ramp up to 50 percent in July, and "then maybe in October to 75 or 100 (percent)," he said.

"Tier two" businesses, such as light manufacturers might be phased in next, Boughton speculated, with careful daily screenings of employees for symptoms of COVID-19. "Tier three" businesses, such as restaurants, might open in the "middle of July," Boughton guessed, but at a scaled-back occupancy rate, that would be "hopefully up to 100 (percent) by October for the holidays."

Connecticut saw its sixth straight day of coronavirus hospitalization declines as the state inches toward reopening. There was a net drop of 26 hospitalizations Tuesday, along with 77 more deaths and 315 new positive cases out of 1,999 tests.

The state also announced its contact tracing blueprint, which will help stamp out infection spread. Connecticut has partnered with Microsoft to develop the contact trace program. It is expected to go live by the third week in May.