SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. — Years into the COVID-19 pandemic and after the surge of omicron cases, experts say things are improving in Connecticut.
"I think it's actually going to be very good in the next few months. And I think we're going to get to a point of normalcy, I don't think COVID is going to go completely away, but I think we're going to get to a point of normalcy," said Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist at Hartford HealthCare.
As the state starts to move forward, Gov. Ned Lamont has also called for an end to the statewide mask mandate for schools and childcare centers. Towns and cities are also dropping their indoor mask mandates.
In South Windsor, officials said they wanted to wait until community spread had decreased, but it's been a bit of a challenge to determine.
"Because of the at-home testing that's basically skewed the numbers pretty significantly and now we're kind of at a point where we're looking at it and we're saying we really can't accurately determine where we are," said town manager Michael Maniscalco.
Wu said the numbers are dropping and there are other variables that tell us that.
"It's the hospitalizations and the deaths and the ICUs. So as long as those three are coming down, then we know it's getting better," he said.
The U.S. is heading out of the "full-blown" phase of the pandemic, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, Anthony Fauci, said this week. He told The Financial Times there will also be a shift that gives people more of a personal responsibility to make decisions about how they want to deal with COVID-19.
Some people said they'll always be conscious of the virus but are feeling hopeful.
"I'm definitely still going to wear my mask," said Alexandria Thompson of Newington. "I feel it's something we always have to be cautious of," she said.
"Yeah definitely hopeful. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable going and just seeing friends," said Dominic Shumilla of Cheshire.
Though the state is heading in a positive direction, officials continue to urge people to stay cautious.
"COVID is not finished with us yet," The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
That is true here in Connecticut as well.
"We shouldn't say we're out of the woods though, I shouldn't say that. Because we still have hundreds of people that are still in the hospital, we still have a lot of people on ventilators, still in ICUs and our death rate still remains high," Wu said.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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