NEW HAVEN, Conn. — COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state of Connecticut. A majority of the state is now in a COVID red alert status.
The city of New Haven is one of those trouble areas. Mayor Justin Elicker has asked the Governor to consider the idea of reverting back to phase 1.
"We need to get on top of this again now like we did the first time around or else it’s going to get much worse," said Elicker.
Elicker and city officials have been watched cases rise to over 350 in the Elm City over the last two weeks. Their contract tracing points to gatherings at restaurants as one of the places where transmission is occurring.
"We need to eliminate as many possibilities as possible for people to interact without masks," said Elicker.
Mayor Curt Leng in neighboring Hamden agrees with Elickers stance. Hamden has seen cases double in the last week. He feels the science is clear about indoor dining.
"From a health and safety standpoint, it’s just not a safe place to be at this time. Not with the numbers that we have," said Leng.
Governor Lamont not going as far at the moment. He wants to create a more tailored response.
"We're going to be looking at gyms. We are going to be looking at indoor dining. We will be looking at churches if we have to going forward. Those are areas where you maybe have a little more likelihood of spread as opposed to retail and workplace," said Lamont.
The Connecticut Restaurant Association reports that 600 local eateries have closed their doors for good or have not set a date to reopen. They say takeout only is simply not enough.
"If there was any additional rollbacks, I’m scared to death of what that would mean for our industry," said Scott Dolch of the Connecticut Restaurant Assoication.
Elicker and Leng both are worried about the economic impact of further rollbacks. They know there would need to be federal or state stimulus efforts to be able to do so. A cost they say is worth paying if it means saving lives.
"It would be much better to take the actions that would allow for things like education to proceed but at the same time providing the economic help," said Leng.
Both are also very worried about the upcoming holiday season and the small gatherings that have been the biggest reason for the recent spikes. They are encouraging people to keep gatherings to only immediate family and practice proper health and safety measures.