As Connecticut has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases among not only the unvaccinated but also, in some instances, the vaccinated, many residents have resumed precautionary measures they had previously set aside.
Here are the latest rules, guidance and expert recommendation about what is and isn’t advisable at this stage of the pandemic.
Are you required to wear a mask? In what circumstances?
In Connecticut, people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are still required to wear a mask in public, while vaccinated people are required to wear masks in health care facilities, on mass transit and in certain other high-risk settings.
Though Gov. Ned Lamont has said he would prefer not to impose a broader mask mandate, the state Department of Public Health said it “strongly recommends” masking for anyone in counties classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having “substantial” COVID-19 transmission. As of Friday, Hartford, New Haven, Fairfield, New London, Tolland and Windham Counties all meet that threshold.
People in those counties are recommended to wear masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status.
Additionally, some private businesses are again requiring masks. The Connecticut Science Center, for example, announced Friday that staff and visitors must be masked at all times. The Westport Country Playhouse has said all patrons must wear a mask and provide proof of vaccination when productions resume this fall.
Should you wear a mask? In what circumstances?
Aside from what is required or recommended, public health experts in Connecticut say they are wearing masks in public in most circumstances, at least until the spread of COVID-19 slows again.
“When you do go out, if you’re around who people you don’t know [if they’re] vaccinated, which is most people in a restaurant, I would definitely recommend wearing a mask,” said Dr. Ulysses Wu, an infectious disease specialist at Hartford HealthCare. “I still wear a mask indoors everywhere I go.”
Keith Grant, Hartford HealthCare’s senior system director of infection prevention, said he had stopped wearing masks into stores but resumed doing so in recent weeks as Connecticut’s numbers began to increase.
Dr. Tom Balcezak, chief clinical officer at Yale New Haven Health, also said he wears masks indoors wherever there are people around, whether or not he’s in a county technically classified as having substantial transmission.
“You may be in an area that is in high transmission and not know it yet until it has been transmitted to you,” he said.
Though unvaccinated people face a substantially greater risk of contracting COVID-19 than vaccinated people, breakthrough cases — where fully vaccinated people contract the virus — have become more common due to the delta variant.
Dr. Marwan Haddad, who chairs Community Health Center’s COVID-19 advisory group, said he now recommends wearing a mask not only in indoor public places but also outdoors in large groups.
“I definitely would mask if it’s going to be crowded, even if it’s going to be outdoors, in particular if I can’t stay six feet away [from others] or keep my kids six feet away.”
Should you be limiting indoor activity?
Some experts interviewed by the Courant said they not only wear masks in public indoor spaces but try to avoid them altogether.
Haddad, for example, said he won’t be accepting invitations to dine in a restaurant anytime soon.
“At this point I would probably say no thanks,” Haddad said. “I have young kids at home who can’t be vaccinated, and there’s no reason to risk it. At this point I would probably avoid indoor places.”
Grant, on the other hand, said he remains comfortable dining indoors with people who are also vaccinated.
“Indoor dining, you’re in control of your ecosystem,” Grant said. “Unless it’s in a very overly crowded establishment, most institutions have some distance in between [tables].”
Haddad said he views some indoor activities as safer than others. A museum, for example, might have enough space to make him comfortable.
“I think you have to think hard about what risk you want to expose yourself to, [against] the level of the need that you want to do,” he said. “Maybe going to a museum at this point, although it’s indoors, it may be less crowded than going to a concert or something like that, but you have to weigh the pros and cons.”
Connecticut does not currently have any rules restricting capacity at restaurants or other businesses.
What about outdoors?
Because COVID-19 does not spread nearly as easily outdoors, experts say most outdoor activities remain safe even amid rising transmission.
Still, Haddad said he would be somewhat wary of crowded events where it’s difficult to maintain distance.
“For me, outdoors is fine, but I would want to be able to see whether I would be able to stay six feet away from somebody,” Haddad said.
Grant said he would be “on the fence” about going to a baseball game and would not go to a concert, where people might be singing, shouting and bumping into each other.
“Right now I wouldn’t go to concerts,” Grant said. “How the epidemiology is, I’m not comfortable at this point going.”
How about travel?
Connecticut does not currently have any limits on interstate travel, though Lamont has floated the possibility of bringing back some sort of travel advisory, which would impose restrictions on people who arrived from hot spot states.
Given the spread of the delta variant Haddad said he would postpone any major travel.
“If somebody has to travel, get masked, get the hand sanitizer, try to physically distance as much as you can,” Haddad said. “If your travel right now is elective or if it’s just looking at vacations, I would find areas that you can get to in your car or where you’re not exposed.”
Grant offered a different perspective, saying he didn’t necessarily view travel as a major risk factor.
“I don’t think it makes a difference where you go,” he said. “If you’re wearing your mask appropriately, you’re doing proper hand hygiene, you’re recognizing social distancing wherever you can, you’re in a good position.”
Ultimately, Grant said, “it’s about the level of risk that you’re willing to take on.”
Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.
