Southington Now Requires Masks Regardless Of Vaccination Status

By Brian M. Johnson, The Bristol Press

August 28, 2021

The town has announced a change to its mask policy, now requiring face masks in all municipal buildings regardless of vaccination status.

Town Manager Mark Sciota said effective Aug. 30 all town employees and members of the public, whether they are vaccinated or not, will be required to wear masks when entering town buildings and the Board of Education Central Offices.

“This directive will remain in place until Southington has two consecutive weeks where it is not in the red or high transmission category,” Sciota said.

A town or city is considered to be in the highest transmission or “red” category when it has a daily average of at least 15 new covid-10 cases for every 100,000 people. A town would move into the “orange” category when the daily average of new covid-19 cases drops to 10 to 14 per 100,000 people.

Sciota said the state of Connecticut has listed Southington in the red category for the second consecutive week, which was the reason for this change of policy.

“Because of the increased number of covid-19 cases, there is an immediate need to implement safety protocols for town buildings and Board of Education central offices, including the use of masks/face coverings,” Sciota said.

A map of which Connecticut towns and cities are in the red category can be found at portal.ct.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-data-tracker.

According to the covid-19 data tracker, as of Friday, the surrounding communities of Bristol, Plymouth, Plainville, New Britain and Newington are all in the red category as well.

As of Friday, 380 patients statewide are currently hospitalized with covid-19 and there are 369,920 confirmed or probable cases. This is an increase of two hospitalized patients and 788 confirmed or probable cases for a statewide increase of 3.64% in daily test positivity.

Brian M. Johnson can be reached at 860-973-1806 or bjohnson@bristolpress.com.