City Mask Mandate To Stay In Place

This is silly and only hurting the city. The population has learned to bring their business to Hamden, Branford, Orange, North Haven...etc where the rules are not so draconian. The result is that more New Haven businesses are going under (2 more restaurants this week) and thus more people are out of work and all of the associated challenges.

If the mayor wants to exert control, try working on the city budget

Even Hartford has enough common sense to drop a useless mask mandate, yet New Haven will keep up the charade. Reminds me of last year, with the entire state sending their children back to school except for New Haven. All of our surrounding towns have dropped the mandates and are doing fine. You think Elicker and Bonds would stop the charade and focus on the true public health crises in this city, we've got plenty to choose from.

On the contrary, I am going to take my business away from Hamden and keep it in New Haven. How hard is it to ask people in Stop and Shop to keep masking? We're entering a winter in which rates will go up again, as they have already started. It is still worth doing this to keep each other, especially the vulnerable and immunocompromised, safe until everyone gets their act together and gets vaccinated.

Covid infection rates are rising in the state and across the country, and around the globe. With multiple colleges in the city, lots of students and staff going to visit family for Thanksgiving break may be exposed to unvaccinated and/or infected people on their way to and from those visits, and inside without masks on to eat meals. Wearing masks whenever inside with people not from your household or when outside in crowds will help keep those infection rates lower than if people didn't wear masks.
So wear your masks, wash/sterilize your hands, and be considerate of others who may be immunocompromised, unable to be vaccinated due to health reasons, or children under 12 who aren't vaccinated fully yet, and those under 5 who aren't eligible for vaccines yet, and older people who haven't gotten a booster vaccine yet and have waning immunity due to the vaccines wearing off after 6 months. We are not out of the woods yet, the pandemic isn't under control yet.

Yair & Heather: We are never getting out of the woods. The trees grow faster than we can chop them down. Given the reinfection rate of the delta variant, it is mathematically impossible to reach herd immunity with the current vaccines. With the vaccines, however, we have slowed the spread such that our hospitals and funeral homes are not overwhelmed. YNHH and Hartford are able to provide normal emergency and "elective" medical and surgical care. For those who do develop symptomatic CoViD-19, we have two new treatments from Pfizer and Merck which will greatly reduce the impact. To be sure, people will continue to die from CoViD-19, but at rates comparable to things like influenza, heart attacks, car accidents, etc. It's time to get on with normal life.

New Haven is just about the last if not the last city to drop this theater. Elicker and Bond are control freaks. They keep moving the goal posts to normalcy. As a triple vaxxed person, I've done my part. If others choose not to get vaccinated that's their choice. My personal freedom is not dependent on the choices of others. Elicker has used fear and intimidation, fines and draconian actions long enough.

The governor should rescind Elicker's arbitrary power. Using his standards we will be wearing masks this time next year.

Our current infection rate is lower because of masks? Lol. Prove it. Oh right, Elicker can't so he will claim it anyway.

Instead of putting on a safety charade Elicker should focus on real safety issues like rising homucides and violence, car thefts and juvenile crime.

I will continue to boycott all New Haven businesses until Elicker's face mask fetish is over - as I did today. It's an easy drive to a nearby town. The Chamber and local businesses should help us take our city back.

PS - did Bond end her SOS effort? This stupidity won't play elsewhere either.

When I wear a mask at the Hamden Stop & Shop, like elsewhere, I'm not doing it to protect myself. I'm doing it to protect the workers who are statistically exposed to far more people every day than me.

However, just curious... Is NHVs infection rate number inflated by out of county people piling into Yale hospital?

I have already lost one family member to Covid just three months ago. And I have several family members who, for various reasons, cannot be vaccinated. If it's too much of an inconvenience for you to wear a mask coming into my establishment, yes, go elsewhere. I am not putting other family members at risk. And you will not be allowed in.

There was reports anywhere from 50 to 80 thousand people at the Yale Harvard game. NO ONE WAS WEARING A MASK! People coming in from all over the surrounding states. Covid is not going anywhere so people need to start living there Lives the way they want to. If you're not comfortable in public those little surgical masks do nothing you should wear an n95 for real protection.

Wish the mayor would do something about the homicides, car break ins, (you have school kids complaining about sexual assault) or any other crime in the city, instead of giving these BS updates on covid.

Aprillevine: Attendance was 49,500, which, I believe, is close to capacity. The Bowl hasn't had 80K seats for decades, since the extra wooden bleachers were removed in one of the much heralded but slap-dash "renovations" inflicted on this once great facility. BTW, the surgical masks stop about 35% of pathogens, N95's 95%. If the surgical masks did nothing we would not wear them in surgery. For full protection, an N100 is needed. It will block 100% of pathogens and nerve gas, too.

Westville man: It's your prerogative to set the rules for your establishment based on your assessment of your risk. Others, whose risk assessment differs, should have the same prerogative.

Aprillevine,

You're 100% incorrect about the effectiveness of surgical masks. They help prevent the spread of Covid.

Wearing a 😷 mask is not only a preventive measure for oneself, but for other who do or do not choose to protect themselves and the public. If unvascinated person's relented to triple vacc or weekly testing then perhaps mask would not be necessary for the rest of us.
People in ct county who do not wear a mask are still testing positive at higher rates, in spite of the full availability of vaccines.

@1644 , you forget how many people who don't go inside the game and just drink in the parking lot. Yale bowl capacity is 65k.

@robn you have 1644 coming out with a Stat that surgical mask are 35% effective. N95 are easy to find now, which nearly triple your chances of more protection per 1644. Wear those so you can protect everyone else and yourself.

The mask mandates are hurting business. While some might weather the storm. others are not so fortunate.

But hey crime is still out of control, teenagers are getting shot and killed. Glad people are stressing real issue like wearing a mask when every other city isn't!

Westville man: To be pedantic, it's not double. Two masks reduce the pathogens by 58%, not 70%. Start with 100 pathogens, reduce by 35. Have 65, reduce by 0.35, which is reduction by 22.75 (35% of 65), have 42.25. Distance also decreases viral load, just as the amplitude of a wave decreases as it disperses in space (think of a ripple in still water when there is a pebble tossed). And, as Albert Ko says, viral load matters. For those of us with functioning immune systems, a lower viral load means our bodies have more time to organize their response to infection before becoming overwhelmed.

The plain fact is most of us are just tired of hiding. tired of foggy eyeglasses and muffled voices. Many have had and recovered from CoViD-19, we have mourned those who did not recover, we have been double and triple vaccinated. We understand and accept the risks.

Westville Man - if you want to require a mask in your business - that's your choice and my choice not to enter. Assuming you're in New Haven, I wouldn't be there anyway. But the point is that's your call - not the mayor's who is using a minimalist approach to evidence to demand mass compliance.

As for people in your family who can't get vaccinated - that's remarkable. But it's quite a thing to tell all of us that we should make a city wide sacrifice for your family. I would suggest your members stay at home, mask themselves and don't go anywhere near anybody.

By the way, the number of people in Yale are immaterial - that's a statewide healthcare system with many hospitals. Transfer people around and secondly, that doesn't reflect on New Haven since people are coming from all over for treatment.

There's a reason why New Haven is last in everything - education, release of mandates, fiscal sustainability and the list goes on and on. It's because our city leaders consistently have their head in the sand; consistently make poor decisions and choose optics over intelligence and rationality.

Noteworthy: It's quite interesting that you say it's an "easy drive" to nearby towns. Because your usual MO on any article about bike lanes or traffic calming is crying about how the traffic flow in New Haven is terrible and being made worse. Typical, using a particular stance only when it benefits your opinion. Laughable! The receipts are on the internet forever.

What evidence do we have that wearing a mask is effective in preventing COVID-19?

There are several strands of evidence supporting the efficacy of masks.

One category of evidence comes from laboratory studies of respiratory droplets and the ability of various masks to block them. An experiment using high-speed video found that hundreds of droplets ranging from 20 to 500 micrometers were generated when saying a simple phrase, but that nearly all these droplets were blocked when the mouth was covered by a damp washcloth. Another study of people who had influenza or the common cold found that wearing a surgical mask significantly reduced the amount of these respiratory viruses emitted in droplets and aerosols.

But the strongest evidence in favor of masks come from studies of real-world scenarios. "The most important thing are the epidemiologic data," said Rutherford. Because it would be unethical to assign people to not wear a mask during a pandemic, the epidemiological evidence has come from so-called "experiments of nature."

A recent study published in Health Affairs, for example, compared the COVID-19 growth rate before and after mask mandates in 15 states and the District of Columbia. It found that mask mandates led to a slowdown in daily COVID-19 growth rate, which became more apparent over time. The first five days after a mandate, the daily growth rate slowed by 0.9 percentage-points compared to the five days prior to the mandate; at three weeks, the daily growth rate had slowed by 2 percentage-points.

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent

Noteworthy and others. This is where the arguments get ridiculous. I already told 1644 that I don't disagree with his statement that it's up to the individual businesses. I was answering some posts that said masks were basically useless. Then 1644 , While trying to disprove my point, only reinforced it by showing masks work.
I understand the fatigue wearing masks. I am, too.
Noteworthy, I would not want you in my business established anyway based on your previous posts. You are not someone I would want to do business with.
As for New Haven finishing last in everything, what a joke. The city is doing quite well actually.
As a final FYI, Mr. noteworthy, my daughter ended up in the hospital with an anaphylactic reaction to the Pfizer vaccine. She was told she cannot get any others at this time. Now reread your post about that and tell me if it makes sense. I guess she shouldn't feed her family or work since she can't get vaccinated.
NHI commentators at their finest.

Most of my discretionary spending used to happen in New Haven. I switched to spending my money in towns that do not require masks. Which is just about anywhere but New Haven. Most of the 31% that are not vaccinated will never ever get the shot. Will New Haven have a mask mandate forever? Why would Elicker do this to local businesses at the holiday shopping busiest time of the year? I wonder if Yale is calling the shots and all of NH will have a mask mandate as long as Yale students are required to wear them. I predict that will be until the middle of 2023.

Then 1644 , While trying to disprove my point, only reinforced it by showing masks work.
Huh? Never did I say that masks "don't work", nor have I ever. As I said, I was being pedantic. Your assertion that if one mask reduced transmission by "x" then two masks would reduce transmission by "2x" was false. Math matters. If we are to make policy based on reason rather than emotion we need to be able to do basic math to determine risks.

As for your daughter, she, like everyone, will be exposed to the virus. As 3/5s says, masks slow the spread, they don't stop it. The good news is that most people who get CoViD-19 recover, especially young folk. Also, even one shot gives 33% protection against any symptoms from delta.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.22.21257658v1.full-text

Hot off the press.Look at what New York is doing.

Vaccinate, Educate, Graduate'

Enter your vaccinated 5-11-year-old for a chance to win a full scholarship to a SUNY or CUNY school.
Parents or legal guardians of any New Yorker who is 5 to 11 years of age and who has received at least their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, may enter their child for a chance to win one of 50, four-year, full-ride scholarships (including tuition, fees, room-and-board, and expenses) to any two-year or four-year New York State public college or university.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/programs/vaccinate-educate-graduate

"Policy based on reason rather than emotion". 1644, you and I are only disagreeing at the edges. Masks work. Reread the posts and we will see that the emotional ones are the ones saying masks are silly, not necessary, etc. it's the emotion of bristling at being Told what to do for the benefit of others, much like what children do.
Not based on just reason, but science as well.

As for your analysis on my daughters situation, thank you for that, except you did not figure for her severe asthmatic condition or the 10 month time lag since the vaccination.
With those factors, you may wanna modify that 33% figure

1644,

I don't think you really do understand the risks because you're completely discounting the risk you pose to others. Masks slow the spread of Covid and vaccinations could give us herd immunity, but people on the right appear to be on a kamikaze mission to avoid both, thus allowing the virus to mutate and become even more deadly. Its happening right now in South Africa.

robn: Please, define the people "on the right" whom you think are on a kamikaze mission. I am on the right, but like all my right wing, old, white male Republican friends in Branford, am fully vaccinated. I and my asthmatic wife have both had and recovered from CoViD-19. She has had her third shot, and I shall have mine in a few weeks. Kamikazes are suicidal. I think we have done what we reasonably can to protect ourselves and moderate our risk. Others' risks are for others to manage. If you read Leonhardt, you will know that societal risks from CoViD19 are far lower than other risks we accept everyday.
As for herd immunity, please, show your work. When I do the math, it's impossible. CoViD-19 is not going away, certainly not unless we adopt the Chinese methods of eradication. (China took a similar approach to drug abuse post-1948.) Yes, masks slow but don't stop the spread. Japan is exhibit "A" for that proposition. As the German minister says, in the end we shall all be either vaccinated, recovered, or dead.

Disagree, Lookout. New Haven has done better than it did pre-pandemic economically. There are significantly less retail vacancies. I will not shop in towns that do not have mask mandates.

1644

Reread what to wrote."…we have done what we reasonably can to protect ourselves and moderate OUR risk. Others' risks are for others to manage."
Therein lies the problem; selfishness. We all share a risk of spread and mutation. Hers immunity is only impossible if refuseniks will it to be so and apparently you have.

Congrats on the Vax but If sometimes wearing a mask to mitigate some of that risk is too much for people on the right (yes you) then you've lost your sense of society; you've lost your mind.

Have you looked at the national maps? COVID cases are rising all around us. Have you read the news? New variant Omicron popping up in Botswana and South Africa. We don't yet know what that means, but apparently it is spreading fast enough to get the experts alarmed. I am happy to be wearing a mask and with others wearing masks in indoor spaces in New Haven. I have been vaccinated and boosted, but I am still happy to take further precautions. What's the big deal about wearing a mask?

Robert Moses - It's easy to get on the Merritt or take side roads out of town. Traffic through New Haven is already bad and it will get worse with lane reductions, more lights - likely not any more synchronized than the ones we have now.

1644 - Spot on especially your last paragraph about just being fatigued and just not willing to hide, muffle and fear. We're vaxxed and any additional risk is just risk like anything else. They had 8,000 at the Manchester Marathon - unmasked. Plus spectators.

Westville Man - New Haven has money because of a 1) excessive federal bailout 2) state bailout 3) Yale bailout. So without changing it's spending and borrowing - the city will now spend all of that and more - and a couple years from now, will come tin-cupping again.

Education: Read up. Our kids lost a year of education and lost real educational advancement. More than a third of them failed to report to online classes despite the fact they were given computers. Now, there's a "need" for emotional themed classes because they have mental health issues. What exactly is your standard of doing well?

If Elicker ever removes the mask mandate, it seems clear you will require one so our paths aren't likely to cross so no worries.

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's reaction to the vaccine. My sister has a reaction to many things and has chosen not to be vaccinated. The question is one of personal risk. She is not willing to risk the vaccine and has chosen the risk of getting sick while maintaining both her job and her husband's restaurant business. Both of them interact with lots of people everyday.

You do a gross disservice to this discussion by simplistically likening mask opposition that never ends to children not liking rules. I've learned how to live with the threat of covid. I've done my personal best to protect myself and my family. You and the mayor should too. Given the vaccines, the new therapies - it's time to get on with living normal with covid.

Noteworthy. A couple of simple points and I'm done. Your sister has a choice, to vaccinate or not vaccinate. What choice does my daughter have?
Secondly, well I am glad you've done your risk assessment for you and your family, how does my daughter and people like her, protect themselves from people like you? You will come into her establishment with no mask and put her at risk for serious illness or worse. I guess that's OK with you. I am sorry for your inconvenience.

I'm glad the mask mandate is going to stay in place but the problem is having everyone follow the rule. I'm tired of seeing people either not wearing mask when they should and those that wear the mask incorrectly like cover your nose too.Some people believe they can't catch covid because they're fully vaccinated but that is a myth.The fully vaccinated can catch and spread covid the vaccine just decreases the severity.

@Westville Man, if your daughter is 18 or older, did her doctors say she also couldn't have the Johnson & Johnson vaccine? Some
folks who are allergic to the mRNA vaccines, which are Pfizer and Moderna, can take J&J.

I think this pandemic has humbled us. Every time we think cases have dropped enough to eliminate masks or some other restriction, some new variant comes along, we see breakthrough cases, etc. I think it's fine and prudent to stay the course with masks for now and not rush to drop them.

Yes, people should wear them correctly and if it's a rule, it should be enforced.

Mcg2000. Thank you for your concern and question. Yes, the doctors told her she cannot get any of the vaccinations at this point. She is in her 30s and works with university students so it's a challenge. We are actually hoping they will allow her to take small, incremental doses in a doctors office at some point. But there's a little data on that presently.

Westville - A finer point.
My sister feels she has no choice because of past adverse reactions so she is not taking the chance that the vaccine will induce a similar result.

We are in the end stages of the pandemic and are going into the learning to live with it stage. Variations will show up; the drug companies getting rich off of Covid will tweak the formula - we'll get revaxxed again or not. Given the current and future projections for covid it is not likely covid will ever be gone.

Are you suggesting that New Haven visitors and 130K people who call this place home, all stay masked forever? Or for years because of the unvaxxed and a small contingency who can't be vaxxed?

At least New Haven's mayor isn't a party girl. In SF, the mayor cannot abide her own health department's mask mandate because it constrains her partying.
https://www.sfgate.com/politics-columns/article/London-Breed-San-Francisco-mask-mandate-nightclub-16665410.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=briefing&utm_campaign=sfg_thedaily&stn=nf&sid=59c69bb811890def718b4b6b