New Haven Will 'Stay The Course' With Mask Mandate, Mayor Says

NEW HAVEN, CT – As confirmed cases of the coronavirus again are on the rise across the United States, Connecticut and in New Haven, Mayor Justin Elicker said that the city’s mask mandate is making a difference and remains the right thing to do in mitigating cases of COVID-19.

City health officials said that as of Wednesday, New Haven is seeing about nine positive cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents. The Department of Public Health has reported a 1.6 percent positivity rate locally, which is significantly lower than the statewide rate, which sat at 3.53 percent as of Monday.

Nationally, health officials are seeing about 197 cases per 100,000 residents, which represents a 6.6 positivity rate. New Haven, like the much of the rest of the country and state, remains in a high transmission category as outlined by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

While Elicker says the lower rate may be due to a number of factors, the fact New Haven has kept its mask mandate in place remains part of the solution, he said Wednesday. He said that local businesses have said that forcing customers to wear masks indoors impacts their competitiveness with businesses outside of New Haven that do not have a mask mandate in place.

Elicker said as winter approaches and more people spend more time indoors, he anticipates the number of positive COVID-19 cases to rise more over the next two months.

“The pandemic is far from over and I know that people feel very frustrated and are anxious to move beyond the pandemic,” Elicker said. “But it is very important for folks to realize that as much as we as a community can do the right thing by keeping each other safe and reducing transmission, the more likely it is the pandemic will end sooner.”

As of Tuesday, 31 percent of eligible residents 12 and over have not been vaccinated, health officials said. That rate comes at a time when there are currently 38 people hospitalized in New Haven with COVID-19 (up 5 percent from the previous week) and when there are 33 active student cases and five active staff among 14 schools around the city.

As families come together for the Thanksgiving holiday, Elicker said that there are no plans to end the city’s indoor mask mandate. The mayor cited data from the CDC that indicates masks significantly reduce the possibility that the coronavirus is transmitted.

“The science says it’s the right thing to do, experts say it’s the right thing to do, because the CDC says it’s the right thing to do,” Elicker said. “…We continue to believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Elicker said the city is exploring “other options” to see if there is a way to support local businesses, but said the city is going to “stay the course”, especially as local health officials see cases going up.

New Haven Health Director Marzita Bond agreed that the mandate is making a positive difference. Bond said that health officials have seen a decrease in new positive cases since the mask mandate was put into place.

“We know that masks work,” Bond said Wednesday. “Masks are just one variable of making sure we’re protecting ourselves and protecting others.”