Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced on Thursday that he would lift virtually all restrictions on coronavirus capacity in public spaces.
As of March 19, restaurants, shops, gyms, libraries, museums, offices and places of worship will be able to open at full capacity, although masks are still required.
Theaters will continue to operate at 50% capacity, restaurants will still have to close until 11 pm and limit tables to eight people.
“While it is encouraging to see the number of cases in our state gradually decreasing and people being vaccinated at rates that are among the highest in the country, we need to continue to take this virus seriously to mitigate its spread as much as possible.” Democratic Governor Ned Lamont said in a statement.
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The number of people allowed to meet at internal and external events will also be increased, and all sports tournaments will be allowed. As of April, outdoor sports facilities will be able to operate at 50% capacity, with up to 10,000 visitors.
The announcement came at a time when several states began to ease restrictions, but Connecticut is the most prominent blue state to fully eliminate capacity limits.
Lamont at a news conference on Thursday emphasized that his condition was not the same. “This is not Texas. This is not Mississippi. This is Connecticut,” said Lamont. “We are maintaining the masks.”
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Even so, the measure goes against the guidance of the director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky.
“With these new statistics, I am really concerned by reports that more states are reversing the exact public health measures that we recommend to protect people at Covid-19,” said Walensky on Monday. “I understand the temptation to do that – 70,000 cases a day looks good compared to where we were just a few months ago – but we can’t settle for 70,000 cases a day, 2,000 deaths daily.”
COVID-19 cases averaged 67,000 per day on Monday, compared to 300,000 cases per day in January.
Mississippi and Texas made headlines this week when their Republican governors announced that they would be reversing capacity limits and removing their mask mandates.
President Biden criticized the decisions of those states, saying that the governors. Greg Abbott, from Texas, and Tate Reeves, from Mississippi, were guilty of “Neanderthal thinking” for reversing their mask mandates.
Arkansas has lifted almost all of its restrictions and several other states have now reopened completely, including Iowa, Missouri (with exceptions across the county) and Florida.
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Fifteen states withdrew or never implemented masking mandates across the state, leaving counties to make the rule.
Thirty-five states have eased at least some restrictions – such as restrictions on personal learning and indoor dining – since last year.