STAMFORD, CT – Stamford Mayor David Martin is requiring that all Stamford City employees must be fully vaccinated by September 7th. With a steep rise in COVID-19 positive cases among unvaccinated individuals, including a recent spike in Stamford hospitalizations, this requirement is to keep residents and employees safe in response to the ongoing pandemic and public health emergency.
The vaccine mandate, requiring vaccination or weekly testing, as well as the requirement to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, are a comprehensive effort to combat the rising spread of the Delta variant and protect City employees and members of the public that they are in contact with.
“My number one priority as the Mayor of our City is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our residents,” said Martin. “We are once again on the precipice of another health emergency. If we do not take leadership and act now, we’re at risk of finding ourselves right back where we were eighteen months ago.”
Employees who are already vaccinated will be required to submit documentation proving vaccination status to the City’s Human Resources Department.
Employees who are not fully vaccinated by September 7th will be required to submit a negative Covid test once a week to the Human Resources Department, or will be subject to discipline in accordance with the City of Stamford’s HR guidelines. The cost of Covid testing for employees will be fully covered by insurance and can be taken during work without penalty.
As of Tuesday, August 3, The CDC announced that all eight Connecticut counties were designated as having “substantial” community spread of Covid-19. The designation of “substantial” is given to counties with greater than 50 cases of COVID per 100,000 residents.
“The Covid-19 vaccines have proven to be effective in combatting against the Delta variant. Vaccines are the most effective mitigation strategy we have to stop the spread of Covid-19,” said the City’s Medical Advisor Dr. Henry Yoon.
On Thursday, August 5, weekly reports conducted by the City of Stamford’s leading Public Safety Analyst Frank Lagoe depicted a 7-Day-Average per 100k residents of 19.4 cases, up 6.4 cases from last week’s 7-day-average of 13 cases per 100k residents, reported on July 29.
Acting Director of Health Jody Bishop-Pullan stated, “It is crucial for all Stamford residents to go out and get the vaccine to protect themselves and others who are immunocompromised, elderly, or ineligible to be vaccinated.”
“We have paid close attention to the numbers, and they’re rising daily. Get the vaccine and you could save a life- and it could even be your own,” Martin continued.
City employees and residents alike are able to go to the City of Stamford website to find a comprehensive calendar of vaccine locations and corresponding times at: https://www.stamfordct.gov/vaccine
