Killingly Town Council Votes to Stay in Phase 3 After Making Red Alert List

The Killingly Town Council decided to remain in phase three of reopening after making the state's Red Alert list.

Killingly was added to the state's COVID-19 Red Alert list this week, with an average daily case rate of 18.6 cases per 100,000 population. The town is averaging 3.2 new cases per day.

Several factors went into the decision to remain in phase three. Day Kimball is currently reporting four COVID cases, two of which are in the Intensive Care Unit, town officials said.

Contact tracing shows that positive cases are not being transmitted in schools, businesses, or grocery stores. Virus transmission is primarily happening in small, private gatherings, which are now happening inside because of the weather, according to town officials.

According to the Northeast District Department of Health, cases are being traced back to an overall "COVID fatigue."

“When you are going some place like a birthday party, or you are hanging around with someone at work, it is not as safe as you think," said Sue Starkey, Director of Health for NDDH. "The most important thing people can do to protect themselves and others is wear a mask, consistently.”

People who are living in COVID-19 hotspots are asked to get tested, even if they are asymptomatic. More information on testing opportunities can be found here.

"What is a little bit concerning in eastern Connecticut is we never had the big uptick in numbers. We never saw it impacting many of our friends and neighbors or hitting the hospitals so hard that the hospitals could barely respond," said Starkey. "Now is the time that those things are on the horizon. We need to avoid it by everybody going back and rededicating themselves.”

There are now 30 'Red Alert' towns in Connecticut, up from 19 last week.

There are now 30 'Red Alert' towns/cities in Connecticut. A lot of red in the eastern half of the state.

Red and orange towns will now have the option to revert to phase two.@GovNedLamont: "There's no good news in those numbers." @NBCConnecticut pic.twitter.com/IgqJJluglQ

— Siobhan McGirl NBC CT (@siobhan_mcgirl) October 29, 2020

Red is the highest alert level and municipalities in that category and the orange category have the option to roll back to a more restrictive phase two of reopening rather than remain in phase three, which the state is in now.

Lamont was asked on Thursday morning when the state would need to get stricter and when it might be time to do something on a statewide basis, like in the spring, when many businesses were closed due to the pandemic.

Lamont said he hopes that will not be necessary.

"We're doing everything we can to keep things open," Lamont said, adding that the parks and beaches will remain open.