Date: February 4, 2022
CONTACT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ellen Zoppo-Sassu
Acting Town Manager
Enfield, CT 06082
Phone: (860) 253-6350
townmanager@enfield.org
TOWN OF ENFIELD LIFTS MASK MANDATE IN MUNICPAL BUILDINGS
Interim Town Manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu announced today that she is lifting the indoor mask mandate for municipal buildings effective Monday, February 7th. “I have been monitoring various factors concerning the Omicron variant in terms of the community’s risk factors. Yesterday, the State achieved three weeks in a row of declining infection rates below 10% with the announcement that the daily positivity rate was 6.57%. In light of that, I am moving the Town from “masks required in municipal buildings” to “masks recommended for those who are unvaccinated in municipal buildings,” effective February 7, 2022.” She said all other suggested guidelines continue to be recommended including social distancing, encouraging those who are ill to not enter municipal buildings, and an acknowledgement that Enfield’s current vaccination rate of 62% lags behind communities in the region. “In light of that, the Town will continue to encourage residents to visit the free vaccination/booster clinics that are being offered on Fridays at the Senior Center, as well as be pro-active with utilizing the Town sponsored free Covid testing site at The Annex in order to continue to monitor their health and work together to suppress the community spread,” she continued.
“As I indicated a month ago, my priority was ensuring that we preserved the municipal workforce so that municipal services would not be adversely affected. At one point during the post-holiday surge, over 3 dozen employees were ill. Back then the statewide infection rate was ranging between 20-25%,” Zoppo-Sassu stated.
“The Town will continue to work with the Health District to monitor health and infection indicators,” said Mayor Bob Cressotti. “It is important to note that residents should also be aware that individual businesses within Enfield are still allowed to ask customers to wear masks. I think I speak for all members of the Town Council when I say that we are interested in resuming normal community activities without fear of Covid setbacks; however, it is also my recommendation that residents continue to use an abundance of caution when they are indoors, and especially when gathering with strangers, as well as employing all necessary standard practices like hand-washing, etc. We have a large number of senior citizens, residents with immune-comprised medical situations and children who are not yet eligible for vaccinations. We need to respect and care for the well-being of others that we may be affecting as well.”