NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven leaders are stepping up and will begin enforcing its indoor mask mandate, said officials Wednesday morning.
Health Director Maritza Bond said that the health department would be transitioning into 'enforcement mode' Thursday as some businesses continue to not comply with the mask mandate.
"We will be activating and transitioning into enforcement mode," said Bond regarding the mandate. She said businesses were provided education and resources regarding the mandate for three weeks. "We will not tolerate individuals that disregard the lives of the larger population that we serve."
Enforcement would be in tiers. First, Bond said businesses would be issued a verbal warning, and to this date, about 28 verbal warnings have been issued in the last three weeks across various businesses.
The next tier, said Bond, would be written warnings, which two have been issued as of this date.
The third tier of enforcement would be shutting down the establishment. During the 'first wave' of the pandemic, 13 establishments were shut down that did not comply with COVID-19 mandates initially put in place by the city and the governor, according to Bond.
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Also added, beginning today, would be a $100 fine implemented for each infraction. Elicker said that if they enter a business and multiple people are not wearing masks, businesses could be charged more than $100.
"The small percentage of individuals who do not comply will have to adhere to the protocols we have in place," said Bond.
"Our goal is to support to support businesses who have complied," said Elicker. He said that initially, they were hoping businesses would comply so they didn't have to enforce the mandate, but that it's "not happening" despite three weeks of going around and assisting bus
"So, unfortunately, we're going to start to ratchet things up a bit," concluded Elicker.
Elicker and Bond also provided an update on the city's other COVID-19 response as the Delta variant persists in the state and the city.
"At the beginning of July, we were seeing about 14 cases per week. Now, today, it's about 200 cases a week," said Bond.
"Our positivity rate as of Monday was 2.4%," said Elicker. "The CDC continues to classify New Haven as an area for high-risk transmission," said Elicker. Despite the rise in cases, Elicker said the city is making progress on its vaccination efforts.
Bond said about 70,000 residents were fully vaccinated.
"It's clear that if you get vaccinated, you are much more protected from getting COVID-19 – and getting severe COVID-19 symptoms," said Elicker.
At the beginning of the summer, residents in Connecticut saw a dramatic decline in new COVID-19 cases, positivity rate, and hospitalizations. Now, as the school year is underway, the state is experiencing another wave of the virus.
New Haven students headed back to the classroom Monday. Classes returned to all in-person learning with no remote option being offered.
Superintendent Ilene Tracey said that remote learning in 2020 and early 2021 provided too much of a challenge for teachers and students.
"It was very difficult for teachers to balance both sides and we've seen them in the classrooms, teaching their kids in person and they also have to pay attention to the kids who are at home so both groups were somewhat short-changed," said Dr. Tracey.
School officials said that mitigation strategies from last year would remain in place, including the use of 'cohorts' where possible, contact tracing, social distancing, and the use of masks.
As of Tuesday, the single-day positivity rate across the state rose to above 4% and hospitalizations decreased.
As of August 26, the state recorded 2,239,666 residents being fully vaccinated, according to the governor's office.
Last Friday, Elicker had announced that New Haven would be requiring its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subjected to frequent testing.
The policy goes into effect on Sept. 27. Employees will be required to upload their proof of vaccination between Sept. 7 through Sept. 14.
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