Gov. Ned Lamont addressed the sharply rising COVID-19 positivity rate and hospitalizations in the state, as well as the “Smart Health Card,” during remarks on Monday.

Monday’s news conference was the first Lamont has held in almost a month regarding where the state stands as the pandemic continues. In November, after a surge in cases of the virus, Lamont and his administration advocated for caution but were hopeful, and didn’t foresee the institution of new COVID restrictions.

Lamont struck a similar tone on Monday, noting that the state is better positioned — with more people vaccinated — than in the early days of the pandemic to handle a surge. He said the Northeast is currently facing a surge, and Connecticut is not in a good place geographically, with the omicron variant coming up from the south and the delta variant coming down from the north. 

Lamont said the state is ramping up its testing efforts. At the moment there are 400 testing sites available, with 23 existing sites expanding hours and seven new sites coming. He implored residents to get a vaccine booster, noting that 33% of state residents are fully vaccinated including boosters. Of those aged 65 or older, 62% have been boosted. There are more than 1,000 vaccination sites in the state.  

Despite Rhode Island’s new indoor mask mandate taking effect on Monday, and similar added restrictions in place in surrounding states, Lamont stood by an earlier decision to leave mask mandates up to municipalities. 

“You can pass laws, you can have mandates, but what’s really important is people understand themselves how important it is to do the right thing,” Lamont said. “I’m not positive yet another mandate will make a big difference there unless circumstances radically change.”

Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Josh Geballe said towns can’t order a townwide vaccine mandate or townwide proof of vaccination to enter private places but can, and have, ordered such for town employees or for people in town-owned buildings. 

The state will be temporarily discontinuing vaccination/testing requirements for certain state employees — not hospital workers — in order to free up more tests, Lamont and Geballe said Monday. Enforcement will be paused for employees who are office workers and educators in order to “free up capacity for residents of the state who were symptomatic or exposed so they have quicker access to testing,” Geballe said.

"We’re going to pause the enforcement around the vaccine mandates,” Geballe said. “We’re going to continue offering testing in prisons and hospitals and other high-risk congregate settings.”

Since formalizing vaccine/testing requirements for state employees, 153 employees have been terminated and 144 have been placed on unpaid leave for not complying, Geballe said Monday.

Lamont also went into detail on the Smart Health Card, which shows a QR code on a phone that can be scanned to show the person’s vaccination status. The governor emphasized that the card is “purely optional and voluntary” and is an “added convenience” that keeps people’s information secure. He said it’s meant as a way to make it easier for restaurants, stores and businesses “to give them an option to show you’re safe.” 

To set up a card, go to www.ct.gov/covidvaccine and click on “get your immunization record.” Scan the QR code that comes up with a phone. The card will then be added to the phone’s wallet; businesses can then scan the card to determine vaccination status. 

Connecticut Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani said Monday that the state will be working to supplement its hospital staff due to the high number of nurses and doctors dealing with burnout by issuing a 60-day waiver for Connecticut state licensure for certain professions, including physicians, nurses, certain social workers and psychologists. The full list of professions will be coming out on Tuesday. 

“This will help with telehealth for people who have established relationships with people outside of the state but also would allow for people to come and practice in-state because if they don’t have a Connecticut state license, they can do that for 60 days,” she said. “Beyond that, they need to have a Connecticut state license, but this is something we can do in the short run to help alleviate at least that restriction.”

Lamont’s news conference came after Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz visited a vaccine clinic held by the Uncas Health District at Mohegan Sun on Monday in an effort to urge people to get vaccinated or boosted against COVID-19. 

The state has now reported 461,775 cases of the virus since the beginning of the pandemic with 6,029 reported since Friday. Of 90,689 tests since Friday, 6.85% were positive for the coronavirus. An additional 101 people have been hospitalized since Friday, bringing the total in the state hospitalized due to COVID-19 to 837. That number has more than tripled in a month. On Monday, 59 people were reported hospitalized in New London County.  

Last Thursday, the state reported that it had surpassed 9,000 deaths of state residents attributed to the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

s.spinella@theday.com