Governor Ned Lamont announced that he has signed an executive order related to the COVID-19 emergency declarations (Executive Order No. 13A) that provides municipal leaders with the option of requiring masks in indoor public places within their respective towns and cities for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status. This means that municipal leaders will now have the option of moving beyond the minimum requirements in the statewide policy on masks implemented by Governor Lamont in May. Executive Order No. 13A also changes the effective date of a new law adopted by the state legislature this summer, requiring it to take effect immediately rather than on its previously scheduled date of October 1, 2021.
Section 6 of Public Act 21-185 enables the Connecticut Department of Public Health to require the testing of nursing home staff and residents for an infectious disease during an outbreak at a frequency as determined by the department. Pursuant to this newly enacted law, Dr. Deidre Gifford, who serves as acting commissioner of the department, plans to require that all unvaccinated nursing home staff statewide receive weekly testing for COVID-19.
