Ridgefield To Require Masks In All Public Indoor Settings

RIDGEFIELD, CT — First Selectman Rudy Marconi has issued an order requiring everyone in town to wear masks at all times while in indoor settings that are open to the public, regardless of vaccination status.

The mandate is part of a collaborative effort with neighboring communities Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, and Redding to stop the spread of the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus.

The new order will go into effect Monday at 12:01 a.m.

Marconi said that the prime motivation for the mandate was to protect the vulnerable under-12 population who are not yet eligible for a vaccine, and that keeping schools open "is a number one priority.

Earlier this week, Marconi predicted further mask restrictions would not be necessary in Ridgefield. Since then, Mayor Joe Cavo of neighboring Danbury issued a masking order for the vaccinated that takes effect Sunday.

"Vaccinations are the best line of defense," Marconi said, “but if masking up protects our community than it is in all our best interests to do this."

Gov. Ned Lamont empowered municipal leaders to tighten mask restrictions through an executive order he signed last week.

Since then, neatly 40 towns have been added to the state's roster of coronavirus red zone municipalities, reporting 15 or more cases per 100,000 over a 2-week average. The statewide daily positivity was reported at 3.52 percent Thursday, a 0.37 percent increase over the previous day.

"We sincerely hope this measure is temporary," Marconi said. "We will continue to monitor the data issued by the Center for Disease Control and the Connecticut Department of Public Health."