Amid the explosion of the Covid 19 virus throughout the country, Governor Ned Lamont explained on Thursday that Connecticut was also experiencing a dramatic uptick in Covid cases.

In a one day period from Wednesday to Thursday, 2,353 cases were discovered through testing. The testing in Connecticut also expanded dramatically, as 36,339 people took the test in a single day. That is a positive test rate of 6.5%, which places a vast majority of the state’s cities and towns in the red alert category.

There are currently 840 people hospitalized with the virus as of today. And the governor also emphasized that in the one day period, 24 Connecticut residents have died. None of these statistics are as dire as the western and middle states are experiencing, but it is still a set of troubling statistics locally.

Thanksgiving is very worrisome to our state leaders, especially as thousands of college students will be returning home from their campuses. The state has put in place very strict testing and quarantine rules for students returning from out-of-state colleges.

The governor stressed also for families to stay safe this Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving should be limited to a very small group this year, preferably only immediate family with a group of ten people or fewer.

The governor stressed that the state is doing as much as it can to keep local schools open, and that he realizes how important that is to the students and their parents.

In their analyses, the state task force came to the realization that many of the outbreaks of Covid in local schools were traced back to sports. There were 29 outbreaks in schools that were attributed to sports teams in the fall season, and 17 schools were forced to close due to sport team contacts.

In addition 235 teachers had to quarantine due to a contact with a sports team member.

This all explains why the decision was made by the CIAC, in consultation with DPH, to postpone all winter school sports until January 19. In addition, the state has now postponed all club, town, and AAU sports teams activities for the same time period. The shut down does not apply to college and pro sports in Connecticut.

With the holiday shopping season upon us, the governor has decided to keep retail stores and restaurants open at this time with the restrictions that are already in place. He stressed that it is vital that all citizens cooperate with the mask mandate, the six foot spacing rule, and the 50% capacity regulation.

The local incident of one Bristol’s sports bars violating the rules was cited as an example of how enforcement can occur, as Legend’s Sports Bar has had their liquor license suspended as a result.

Finally, the governor, in the questioning period, was asked if a larger shut-down could happen. He stressed that the state was doing everything it could to keep schools and stores and restaurants open, but if things continue to worsen, stricter measures might have to be imposed.

It is therefore incumbent on everyone in the state to cooperate with the rules and keep Connecticut open.