So you have gotten your first or only COVID-19 vaccine — maybe even your second.

And you have heard about Connecticut rolling back a raft of virus-related restrictions March 19, and that the state’s travel ban is shifting from a mandate to a recommendation. And the weather is getting warmer.

It is no surprise that you and everyone else are more than ready to shed those masks more often — or completely — and to make plans to see friends and family. Not on a screen, but in the flesh.

Newtown’s ranking health official is not a mind reader, but these are the things that Health District Director Donna Culbert strongly suspects are occupying the attention of a growing number of folks locally, and across the state and nation.

Because she is feeling the same way.

“But we can’t lose sight of how this virus is transmitted,” Culbert told The Newtown Bee this week as Newtown’s case count neared 1,600. “Even if you got your vaccine and enough time has passed for it to be fully effective, you can still get and give others the virus.”

So despite the nice weather, the vaccine, and your being sick and tired of masks and distancing and disinfecting, Culbert is among the legion of health professionals imploring her constituents in Newtown and neighboring Bridgewater and Roxbury to keep these practices top of mind in the coming weeks.

Locally, vaccine clinics are working their way through the general public.

By March 11, the health official said, most local residents who are in their mid-60s and older who want a COVID vaccine will have received one. And she believes that by next week, the “vast majority” of school staff members and Newtown child care providers will have been vaccinated.

Culbert said despite the issues some may be having coordinating their second doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, every qualified Newtown resident who received their first shot left that clinic with an appointment for their second.

“At the same time, we are seeing people who got their first shot somewhere else who want to get their second shot in town with us,” she said. “But because of the way we inventory our vaccine supply, we have to insist that if you got your shot elsewhere, you need to return to the site where you got your first.”

Culbert also explained that despite the appearance of a mini-surge in Newtown cases last week, with the number of cases escalating from 1,548 to 1,590 over the past six days, she believes this was just another situation where the state had a number of Newtown cases building in its database that were all released in a period of a couple of days.

“We have been watching some of these cases for some time and they suddenly all got tagged into the list,” she said. The community has lost 64 residents to the virus, and no new deaths were reported locally this week.

First Variant Death

As of March 9, the total number of COVID-19 cases reported among Connecticut residents was 288,657, including 268,555 laboratory-confirmed and 20,102 probable cases; 390 patients were hospitalized with lab-confirmed COVID-19 on that date, and the state had registered 7,752 COVID-19-associated deaths.

As of March 8 statewide, 1,162,682 residents had been vaccinated: 773,280 had received a first dose or are among the 11,203 who received the newly released Johnson & Johnson single dose shot, and 389,402 had completed their second round of vaccinations. On March 22, vaccine eligibility will expand to those age 45 to 54.

On March 8, the state also reported the first death of a Connecticut resident who was infected with the B.1.1.7 variant.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health also announced that an additional 15 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19, commonly known as the UK variant, had been reported among Connecticut residents, bringing the statewide number of confirmed cases of the variant to 81.

The specimen collection dates for these newly identified cases are from between January 29 and February 17, and the individuals involved range in age from 15 to 55 years old.

An additional case of the B.1.351 variant of COVID-19, commonly known as the South African variant, has been reported in Connecticut, bringing the statewide number of confirmed cases of this variant to two. The new case involves an individual who is between 15 and 25 years old and is a resident of Greenwich.

They were tested in early February and reported travel to Massachusetts.

Rollback Reminder

Governor Ned Lamont announced late last week that Connecticut will eliminate capacity limits on restaurants, houses of worship, retailers, and most businesses on March 19 — but will retain mandates for distancing and masks as a precaution against a resurgence of COVID-19.

“Connecticut has earned it,” Lamont said. “You know, it’s been tough, and people have been frustrated. They’ve been sheltered at home, and a lot of our businesses really suffered, and people took a hit.”

Lamont used almost identical language last fall when he loosened capacity restrictions from 50% to 75% on October 8, only to return to 50% a month later as cases began to spike across the country.

The governor acknowledged that another reversal is possible if more contagious variants of the virus take hold and hospitals and ICUs again face being overwhelmed. Lamont said he was well aware of the economic cost of his closure orders and was relieved to move into a new phase.

“I felt that, I think, more than most, so I’ll tell you, it feels pretty good. It feels good that we’re able to do this. It feels good that we’ve been slowly reopening since May 20. And we really haven’t had to turn back,” he said, referring to a complete closure. “I hope to God that we don’t.”

Physical distancing rules still will constrain restaurants: Tables will be limited to eight patrons, tables must be spaced, and an 11 pm curfew will remain in place. In lieu of tables being placed six feet apart, restaurants have the option of separating them by Plexiglas shields, as many already have done.

Bars that do not serve food must remain closed.

Dr David Emmel, chair of the Connecticut State Medical Society’s Committee on Legislation, said as the state proceeds with a loosening of coronavirus-related restrictions, physicians are concerned that cases could creep back up.

He urged diligence in continuing to wear masks and maintain six feet or more of distance when outside the home

“We would like to see the rollbacks pursued very cautiously, and following the medical science and the experts’ advice,” Emmel said. “There’s a lot of evidence that masking and social distancing are key factors in slowing the pandemic down. We’ve only vaccinated a tiny fraction of the population. We’re not close to herd immunity. So it’s very critical to maintain” the precautions.

Emmel said the flattening positivity rate and falling or plateauing hospitalizations are positive signs.

“But there’s great concern that with the variants that are more contagious, we’re going to see a third spike,” he said.

Lamont and other administration officials echoed Culbert’s local guidance, saying that avoiding that third spike may depend on whether residents continue to take precautions after March 19 — and even after they are vaccinated.

CT Mirror content by Mark Pazniokas and Jenna Carlesso is included in this update.