150 gather at Connecticut Capitol to protest mask and social distancing mandates [View all]

More than three months after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont enacted a statewide mask mandate, about 150 people gathered in front of the Capitol in protest of mandatory masking, social distancing, contact tracing and other public health responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

True to their cause, the attendees did not wear masks or practice social distancing at Sunday afternoon’s rally. There were several Capitol Police officers at the event, but one said they were only there for standard crowd control.

Standing at the top of the Capitol steps, a handful of speakers railed against Connecticut’s public health measures, which have been put in place in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19. Connecticut has so far seen nearly 50,000 coronavirus cases and more than 4,400 coronavirus-related deaths, according to state data updated Friday.

The rally’s main target was the mask mandate, which requires residents to wear face coverings when they can’t or aren’t social distancing.

Read more: https://www.courant.com/coronavirus/hc-news-coronavirus-no-mask-rally-capitol-20200802-pudpn6kqabcozprwxdmiwe3ytm-story.html
((Hartford Courant)