Indoor Mask Mandate Lifted Monday In Enfield Municipal Buildings

ENFIELD, CT — Effective Monday, the indoor mask mandate for municipal buildings in Enfield will be lifted, according to interim Town Manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu.

The mandate, which was reinstituted shortly after Zoppo-Sassu took over her position in December, required all visitors to town-controlled buildings to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. Some examples of muncipial buildings include town hall, the Enfield Senior Center and the two public libraries.

The policy had caused consternation among many residents, particularly some who wished to attend town meetings but were not allowed access to the Council Chambers due to the mandate.

Zoppo-Sassu cited three straight weeks of declining COVID-19 infection rates below 10 percent as a factor in her decision. She did emphasize, however, that masks will continue to be "recommended for those who are unvaccinated in municipal buildings."

All other suggested guidelines continue to be recommended, including social distancing, encouraging those who are ill to not enter municipal buildings, and an acknowledgement that Enfield’s current vaccination rate of 62 percent lags behind other communities in the region.

"In light of that, the town will continue to encourage residents to visit the free vaccination/booster clinics that are being offered on Fridays at the Senior Center, as well as be pro-active with utilizing the town-sponsored free COVID-19 testing site at The Annex in order to continue to monitor their health and work together to suppress the community spread," Zoppo-Sassu said. "As I indicated a month ago, my priority was ensuring that we preserved the municipal workforce so that municipal services would not be adversely affected. At one point during the post-holiday surge, over three dozen employees were ill. Back then, the statewide infection rate was ranging between 20 and 25 percent."

Mayor Bob Cressotti said, "The town will continue to work with the Health District to monitor health and infection indicators. It is important to note that residents should also be aware that individual businesses within Enfield are still allowed to ask customers to wear masks. I think I speak for all members of the town council when I say that we are interested in resuming normal community activities without fear of COVID setbacks; however, it is also my recommendation that residents continue to use an abundance of caution when they are indoors, and especially when gathering with strangers, as well as employing all necessary standard practices like hand-washing, etc. We have a large number of senior citizens, residents with immune-comprised medical situations and children who are not yet eligible for vaccinations. We need to respect and care for the well-being of others that we may be affecting as well."