‘Summer is coming. It’s time to get our holiday season going,’ Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday.

By Gregory B. Hladky and Mark Pazniokas, CTMirror.org

Gov. Ned Lamont, whose administration has been facing intense lobbying by the restaurant industry over COVID-19 restrictions, made a modest concession Friday by allowing indoor dining on June 17, three days ahead of the previously scheduled second phase of reopening on June 20.

Three days makes little difference in the life of a pandemic that has claimed 4,000 lives and roiled Connecticut’s economy since widespread closures ordered in mid-March to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, but it gives restaurants a small lift approaching Father’s Day on June 21, Lamont said.

“The metrics are pretty good,” Lamont said, referring the rate of new COVID-19 cases and steady fall of hospitalizations. “A lot of the restaurants said give us a little more time to prepare for the coming weekend.”

More guidance on Phase 2 will be released in coming days, he said. Gyms and movie theaters are slated to reopen in Phase 2, and hotels will be allowed to resume booking guests for leisure travel after being limited to first-responders and essential business travel.

“But we’re in a different place today,” Lamont said. “Here we are in June. Summer is coming. It’s time to get our holiday season going, and we’re going to be able to slowly open up our hotels as well.”

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.

— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) June 5, 2020

The governor already has reconsidered a ban on graduation ceremonies. On Wednesday, Lamont said that that graduations could begin this weekend, following certain guidelines: They must be held outdoors, limit attendance to 150 graduates and guests, and maintain social distancing protocols.

[Editor’s Note: Superintendent Tom Moore confirmed that planned graduations for Conard and Hall high schools in West Hartford, which each involve about 350 graduates, will not be impacted by Wednesday’s actions, and will be held as drive-in events at the Farmington Polo Grounds.]

The restaurant order Friday puts Connecticut ahead of some nearby states in allowing indoor dining. Outdoor dining has been allowed since May 20, the first of four expected phases in loosening restrictions that has limited commerce, closed schools and generally limited gatherings to no more than five people.

“We worked very closely with the restaurant association,” he said.

Scott Dolch of the Connecticut Restaurant Association reacted with restraint, noting the association had been lobbying to begin indoor dining this week under conditions that would limit capacity and maintain social distancing.

“At the same time, this date will thankfully put us ahead of neighboring Massachusetts and New York in this regard,” Dolch said in a statement. “Given that Connecticut restaurants make up ten percent of our state economy, it’s critical that we not fall behind regionally and every day counts.”

Dolch said no one knows what will be the long-term damage on restaurants, the segment of the economy hardest hit by the closures and one of the biggest sources of the COVID-related unemployment.

“What we do know is that throughout this entire process, Governor Lamont has and his administration have remained responsive and open to our calls, even when we’ve disagreed,” he said. “We appreciate their open door, and we thank the governor for providing clarity on this timeline. Connecticut restaurants are ready for this next step.”

Lamont said the two weeks of outdoor dining have gone well.

“I think customers are slowly getting back, feeling confident,” Lamont said, adding that all the restaurants he’s visited have taken the safety protocols seriously.

Bars still will be closed as of June 17 but Lamont’s accelerated plan will also permit museums, zoos, amusement parks, sports clubs, libraries, and some youth sport programs to resume operations.

The governor said state health officials are continuing to monitor whether all the large demonstrations in recent days could produce another surge in COVID-19 infection rates. Experts across the U.S. have warned that the massive protests triggered by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis could lead to significant increases in coronavirus infections.

“But at long as COVID hospitalizations and infection rates remain low, we will be in a very good position for a June 17 Phase 2,” Lamont said.

State reports released Thursday showed that Connecticut’s COVID-19 fatalities now number at least 4,007. But people hospitalized for the potentially deadly virus dropped by 33, bringing the total hospital cases down to 373.

According to statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University, Fairfield County ranks 10th in the nation for the number of confirmed or probable COVID-19 related deaths with 1,293.

Hartford County ranks 11th in the U.S. for coronavirus fatalities, with 1,266 and New Haven County sits at 16th in the nation with 992 deaths from the virus.

Fatalities have been heaviest at nursing homes, where visits have been banned. Lamont said that ban will continue, while the state explores other ways to provide family contact.

“We’re talking about that right now, trying to find some way we can augment what we do with FaceTime, maybe something outside. maybe one visitor a family over a limited period of time, get them tested, being able to go in,” Lamont said. “We’re going to be able to make some progress on that, I hope soon.”

For the latest guidance on what is open in Connecticut, click here.

Reprinted with permission of The Connecticut Mirror. The author can be reached at [email protected].

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