New Haven Mayor Urges Connecticut Go Back To Phase 1

NEW HAVEN, CT — City Mayor Justin Elicker said Connecticut should go back to the first reopening phase to slow down coronavirus infections.

“I’m pretty clear that I think we need to go back to some sort of phase 1 which includes restricting or not having indoor dining,” Elicker said at a Tuesday news conference.

He acknowledged it would be painful in the short term for restaurants, but better in the long term if infection rates were to drop.

“We need to eliminate as many possibilities for people to interact without masks,” he said.

New Haven has closed 13 establishments that the city said violated the state’s coronavirus reopening rules. Of those, 10 have reopened, one is working on a corrective action plan and two will remain closed because they are part of the state’s third reopening phase, according to city Director of Health Maritza Bond.

Bond encouraged residents to reconsider traditional holiday gatherings and instead celebrate with only members of their immediate household.

New Haven contact tracing data shows many infections come from small indoor gatherings, Bond said. One such gathering involved just a handful of people where one person was infected. That infection spread to a workplace, where several others were infected.