Stamford Mayor David Martin will be requiring that all city employees be fully vaccinated in a month or be tested for COVID-19 every week. He said Friday that city employees must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 7.
Employees who are already vaccinated will need to submit documentation proving vaccination status to the city’s human resources department.
Those who are not fully vaccinated by Sept. 7 will be required to submit a negative Covid test once a week to the Human Resources Department, or they will be subject to discipline. The mayor’s office said the cost of Covid testing for employees will be fully covered by insurance and can be taken during work without penalty.
Stories from LX News
LX, or Local X stands, for the exponential possibilities of storytelling in our communities.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Martin said this comes amid a steep rise in COVID-19 positive cases among unvaccinated individuals, including a recent spike in Stamford hospitalizations.
His office said vaccine mandate, requiring vaccination or weekly testing, as well as the requirement to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, are an effort to combat the rising spread of the delta variant and protect City employees and members of the public.
“My number one priority as the Mayor of our City is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our residents,” Martin said in a statement. “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.”