Stamford's mayor has issued a mandate requiring that all Stamford city employees must be fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing for COVID-19.

Mayor David Martin made the mandate official in a news release sent out by his office on Friday.

The mayor's office says in part, "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 who 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,” Martin says. “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 not fully vaccinated by Sept. 7 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's HR guidelines. The cost of COVID-19 testing for employees will be fully covered by insurance and can be taken during work without penalty.