No Mask Mandate For Fairfield, Despite Omicron: First Selectwoman

FAIRFIELD, CT — Coronavirus cases are rising in Fairfield, but the first selectwoman made it clear this week she has no plans for another mask mandate, despite the new highly transmissible omicron variant.

“I don’t want to mandate our community — I am asking our community,” First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said in a video update Wednesday on Facebook.

The town is following guidance from state health officials, said Kupchick, who urged residents to mask up. Fairfield was last under a mask mandate for about six weeks from mid-August to October due to the surge of cases that accompanied the rise of the delta variant. Amid the spread of omicron, several towns in Fairfield County, including neighboring Trumbull and Westport, have instituted mandates, according to CT Insider.

“I have faith in our community to do the right thing,” Kupchick said, noting she sees a large percentage of people wearing masks when out in public and that a majority of coronavirus cases are being transmitted at private household parties and gatherings.

There were 536 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases reported between Monday and Thursday in Fairfield, according to town data. Since the start of the pandemic, Fairfield has seen 7,464 cases and 218 deaths. The town has an average daily rate of 67.6 cases per 100,000 residents from Dec. 5 to Dec. 18, state data said.

The number of cases in Fairfield is nearing the highest counts seen during the pandemic, according to town Health Director Sands Cleary, but hospitalization rates are not as high as previous waves. Fairfield will likely continue to see an increase in cases, including breakthrough cases among vaccinated people, according to Cleary, who urged residents to get a booster shot and limit activity with groups of people whose vaccination status is unknown. About 80 percent of Fairfield residents had received at least one vaccine dose as of Wednesday, according to state data.