Public health officials say they’re responding to an apparent COVID-19 outbreak in Danbury, one of Connecticut’s largest cities.
The city reported at least 178 new cases since the start of August. That’s up from 40 new cases at the end of July.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said the city now plans a fully remote school reopening.
“It’s gonna be a bit of a journey, and it’s not gonna be a state line," Lamont said. "Nobody more than me wanted to get our schools open. I knew just how important that is for young people. But I think Danbury’s doing the right thing.”
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said the response was temporary and based on the situation at hand.
“So these steps are measured, they’re reasonable, they’re rational. And it’s because we’re concerned," Boughton said. "We can pull back on them, and we certainly intend to pull back on them as fast as possible. We know people have got Covid fatigue. But at the end of the day we’ve gotta make sure our folks are healthy.”
State officials say much of the outbreak is related to recent out-of-state travel and doesn’t appear to have spread beyond Danbury.
Western Connecticut State University in Danbury said it’s delaying students’ return to dorms for at least two weeks.
