Gov. Lamont pulls Connecticut back to Phase 2 reopening, as coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across state

As COVID-19 continues to spread across Connecticut yet again, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday that he is pulling the entire state from the third phase of reopening back to a modified version of the second phase.

“We are putting in these restrictions on a statewide basis now to make sure we don’t have to do more severe things later," Lamont said at a Monday afternoon briefing.

The state’s chief operating officer, Josh Geballe, added that the state is aiming to avoid the “worst case scenarios" that are currently predicted by some experts.

When the changes go into effect on Friday, restaurants will be required to scale back their maximum indoor capacity from 75% to 50%, and both restaurants and entertainment venues will be required to close by 9:30 p.m., with the exception of takeout.

Event venues will be limited to 25 people indoor and 50 outdoor, and religious gatherings will be capped at a maximum of 50% capacity or 100 people.

The state moved into the third phase of reopening less than a month ago, on Oct. 8, when the coronavirus numbers had already begun to spike. At the time, Lamont said he wanted to give restaurants “a little bit of flexibility," after they appropriately managed the reopening restrictions for a number of months.

The statewide scaleback is a significant pivot from Lamont’s recent stances. Over the past month, the governor rolled out a municipality-specific alert system, and advised hotspot municipalities to consider moving back to Phase 2 individually.

But as more and more municipalities have become coronavirus hotspots, Lamont began to waver on his town-by-town approach. On Thursday, when the state’s daily positivity rate hit an unusually high 6.1%, the governor said the state’s numbers were “getting close” to requiring more widespread intervention.

“If this infection rate continues on an upward trend, we’re going to have to make some changes to make sure you’re safe," Lamont said at a Thursday briefing.

And on Monday, the governor said it had become clear that the outbreak could no longer be contained by targeting specific municipalities.

“Right now, what we’re defining as flare-ups on a municipal basis is becoming more like community spread," Lamont said.

According to numbers released by the state on Monday, that upward trend has continued. The state reported a single-day positivity rate of 3.4% and, while the daily positivity rate may vary widely, Connecticut’s seven-day average rate is now about 3.6%. That’s the highest weekly rate the state has seen since June 6.

Coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths have also risen in recent weeks. On Monday, the state reported a total of 340 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, the highest number seen since June 5. And in the month of October, at least 108 people died with the virus, which is more than three times the number of people who died in August.

Lamont said Monday that if the state’s numbers continue to worsen, more business and gathering restrictions could be on the horizon. The governor said he might move Connecticut back into a partial lockdown “if things get a lot worse.”

Lamont said that he’s watched coronavirus continue to worsen in some European countries, but doesn’t necessarily expect the pandemic to return those levels in the United States.

This story has been updated.

Courant staff writer Alex Putterman contributed to this report.

Emily Brindley can be reached at ebrindley@courant.com.

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