Newtown is joining other Greater Danbury area municipalities and implementing a mask mandate in indoor public places, regardless of vaccination status.  The emergency declaration was issued by First Selectman Dan Rosenthal after consulting with Newtown resident Dr John Murphy, CEO of Nuvance Health, as well as the Newtown Health District Director.  Rosenthal didn't put one in place when Danbury and 5 surrounding towns did earlier this month because at the time he says Newtown's COVID-19 caseload and other data didn't justify one.  Now, Newtown has the highest average new case rate in the region.  When the other towns required indoor masking, Rosenthal noted that most of Newtown's cases stemmed from out-of-town travel.