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Mask mandates lifted in some communities as COVID-19 infection rate dips

Of the five communities loosening restrictions, all of them have at least 70% of their population fully vaccinated.

GLASTONBURY, Conn. — If there’s anything we’ve learned about COVID-19 — it’s to expect the unexpected. Still, the infection rate is falling and vaccination rates continue to climb.

That’s good news and some communities are using it as an opportunity to loosen mask requirements.

Five Connecticut communities are loosening mask requirements. However, they are all still keeping a close eye on public health data in case they need to reverse course.

Of the five communities making this move, all of them have at least 70% of their population fully vaccinated.

RELATED: Glastonbury to drop town-wide indoor mask mandate amid fewer COVID-19 cases

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“They’ve made the decision they can loosen mask mandates,” said Kevin Maloney, of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

The communities making the move are Cheshire, Colchester, Fairfield, Glastonbury, and Rocky Hill.

“Rates are going down, so I feel like they should ease up on the mask," David Hills, of Meriden, said.

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For the past several days, Connecticut has seen a test positivity rate around or below 2%. The low infection rate is why officials in Glastonbury decided to end the mask mandate, but some businesses still prefer that you keep them on.

At Scissor Kids, for example, they cut the hair of children who aren’t even eligible to be vaccinated.

“We do children and they sometimes don’t wear masks correctly and kids are germy, so we keep our masks on regardless," manager Betsy Evans said.

Over at Giovanni’s Pizzeria, the masks will stay on for employees but they are happy to see customers making their own decisions.

“It was so hard for us to police the mask. They would come in here with no mask," explained owner Gary Delbon. "They would get in an argument and call us names and walk out and I lost customers so I think it’s a good thing that they lift the mandate and leave it up to the people themselves."

Over in Rocky Hill, Whole Deli has a mask sign on the door to go along with a sign that says, “We’re Hiring.” Their mask sign is a request and they say masks are a secondary issue to keeping the doors open and the lights on.

“It’s been slow. Not as busy as it used to be and now with a lot of staff shortages it makes it long hours for the people who are working,” explained employee Heidi Cavanaugh.

RELATED: Connecticut governor to decide on 2nd term at end of 2021

With no state mask mandate, a patchwork of municipal mandates can be confusing.

The governor told FOX61 he’s inclined to keep recommending masks and one place he will continue to mandate them are schools.

“I think our infection rate is so low because of the mask requirements and I think especially in our schools," Gov. Ned Lamont said. "I don’t care what the vaccination rate is in the general population, you can’t be vaccinated in a school so I think that’s going to stay for a while longer especially for that age group."

But even among towns loosening mask restrictions, there are shades of gray. In Glastonbury, while people can go maskless in most public spaces, a mask requirement remains in place at the town hall, the library, and the community center.

Private businesses also still have the right to enforce their own rules on their property and deny service.

Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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