WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - Citing a drop in community transmission and a strong vaccination rate among residents, West Hartford officials are repealing the town's indoor mask mandate and emergency declaration, effective Friday.
Mayor Shari Cantor and Town Manager Matt Hart said they've been watching two key metrics: community COVID-19 transition in Hartford County, and in West Hartford itself. Both have dropped consistently over a four-week period, they said.
The town also carries a remarkable COVID vaccination rate: 87.2% of those 12 and older. 90% of staff and eligible students in the West Hartford Public Schools are vaccinated.
"Our community's been doing a good job with this," Hart said, "Our business community has been very supportive. So, we feel as though we're at the stage that we can safely do this."
It's a case in which a mandate is being lifted, in part, because it was successfully followed.
"Our community has done the work of getting vaccinated, masking, staying home when they're sick, and so the numbers reflect that," Cantor said.
The town mask mandate took effect on Aug. 20 of this year. Mayor Cantor declared a local state of emergency on March 15, 2020, five days after Gov. Ned Lamont declared public health and civil preparedness emergencies for the entire state.
Cantor and Hart believe they can reimpose the mask mandate, or take other needed measures to protect the public, under the governor's emergency declaration, which runs through Feb. 15 of next year.