Indoor dining, gyms, movie theaters, small weddings and events to reopen June 17, three days early – CTPost

Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

Indoor dining, gyms, movie theaters, small weddings and events to reopen June 17, three days early

HARTFORD Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday moved up his Phase 2 reopening plans by three days to June 17, paving the way for indoor dining and the opening of gyms, movie theaters, hotels and other businesses.

Lamont indicated the move to a Wednesday reopening was to avoid coinciding with the Fathers Day weekend.

To avoid having Phase 2 of Connecticut's reopening efforts take effect during a busy Father's Day weekend, we're going to move it up a few days earlier to June 17.

We'll release additional safety guidance for businesses that fall under Phase 2 in the next couple of days.

Well release additional safety guidance for businesses that fall under Phase 2 in the next couple of days, he wrote on Twitter.

Restaurants opened for outdoor dining on May 20, but many remain closed. They will now have a soft opening for indoors ahead of the weekend. Hair salons were allowed to reopen on Monday.

Phase 2 also includes other personal services such as nail salons and tattoo shops; formal events such as weddings; hotels and motels, outdoor amusement parks; libraries; pools and social clubs; and museums and aquariums. Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo, which reopened outdoors only, will be allowed to reopen its indoor pavilions.

All businesses and activities, however, will continue to have strict guidelines for social distancing including limits on the numbers of people allowed.

Lamont announced Friday that another 31 people died from COVID-19-related ailments, bringing the total to 4,038. But a net reduction of 23 patients brought the number of people hospitalized down to 350 on Friday. The peak hospitalization was 1,972 on April 22.

Its unclear what additional rules Lamont will set, but he told reporters after an anti-gun violence event at St. Francis Hospital here that the guidelines will be released in upcoming days.

Its a really big weekend, Lamont said of the June 21 Fathers Day. They said a few extra days lets us prepare. Weve giving them notice today, certainly the metrics on Monday. It gives them time to prepare for a really big weekend. Our positivity rate has been very low over the last week and that has been heartening. A lot of athe restaurants said give us a little more time to prepare for that coming weekend.

Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, said that during the devastating 80-plus day closure of restaurants for indoor dining, Lamont has remained responsive and that the industry appreciates the open door to a new normal of social distancing and protecting the dining public as it makes its soft reopening.

Its been a devastating and unprecedented experience for our industry and the 160,000 people we employ across the state, Dolch said in a statement. When COVID began, the restaurant industry did not ask or demand to remain open indoors. Rather, our owners understood the gravity of this problem, and they knew they had to step up and be part of the solution, even though it meant putting their businesses and their livelihoods at risk.

While the industry asked for earlier dates to reopen indoors, Dolch noticed that Lamonts June 17 date puts Connecticut slightly ahead of reopening protocols in neighboring Massachusetts and New York.

Given that Connecticut restaurants make up 10 percent of our state economy, its critical that we not fall behind regionally, and every day counts, Dolch said. Connecticut restaurants are ready for this next step.

Rich Ndini, co-owner of Ralph & Richs restaurant, a downtown Bridgeport fixture for 30 years, said it was good news, so the staff can planned for a reconfigured indoor dining to supplement the 14 outdoor tables. Were just going to go by their rules, said Ndini during a mid-afternoon phone call on Friday.

We clean the tables with a special disinfectant and when people enter the patio they have to wear masks, said Ndini, who made special family style trays. The key is to give customers confidence.

Not everyone is going to come out, Ndini said, who had not heard about the earlier reopening until contacted by a reporter. Whatever the guidelines are, of course well follow them. He said that the restaurants smaller staff has also been specializing in takeout platters.

On the reopening of hotels, Lamont said that the infection and hospitalization rates as well as the fatality statistics, will have an important role in determining the percentages of rooms that will be allowed to be reserved.

Going back to the early of the days of the pandemic, we had said hotels are only for first responders, and no short-term rentals, Lamont said in the hospitals driveway. We wanted to do everything we could to discourage a lot of New York-to-Connecticut back-and-forth. But were in a different place today and here we are in June, summers coming. Its time to get our holiday season going and well be able to open up our hotels as well.

The reopening of the state remains on track as coronavirus infection, hopsptalization and death totals continue to decline. The number of people being treated in hospitals, for example, has fallen to 373, a decline of 75 percent since the peak of 1,972 on April 22.

Connecticut reached 4,000 deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday, but the number of new weekly deaths has also declined sharply in late May and June.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT

See the original post here:
Indoor dining, gyms, movie theaters, small weddings and events to reopen June 17, three days early - CTPost