As cases rise, it’s back to Phase 2 for Windham
First of state’s 11 ‘red alert’ areas to opt for reversal
“I get it; we need to keep people safe. But having a set rule, it doesn’t always apply to everyone. One size fits all, and that’s not fair and that’s not how it should be. Obviously the smaller places are at a disadvantage.”
— Angelo Sakios, owner of Olympic Restaurant on Boston Post Road in Willimantic
The small town of Windhamreported 567 COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 20, a jumpof about 180 cases in the past month, prompting Gov. Ned Lamont to designate it one of 11 “red alert” areas. State officials recommend residents of red alert areas return to an earlier pandemic mindset — only leaving the house when necessary — and recently allowed for towns to return to Phase 2of reopening. Only Windham has opted to do so.
“We’re in for a ride here. It’s no time to let your guard down,” said Windham town manager James Rivers in a broadcast Oct. 14 to the town.
In Windham, as in other red alert towns, it’s not clear where the virus is spreading.
“There doesn’t seem to be a main factor that leads to there being a lot of cases,” said Patrice Sulik, director of health at the North Central District Health Department. “We knowthatwe’re not seeing many, if any, being transmitted through the school environment because they have a lot of mitigating procedures that are working very well. I think in general, people are out and about a lot more ... there’s not one common factor that we’re seeing. It seems to be kind of across the board in general.”
Sulik said WindhamtownmanagerJames Rivers, is taking the rise in cases “very seriously.” “He wants to do anything he can to try to stop the numbers from climbing and get things back to a better place.”
Lamont’s executive order gives towns an option, but not a mandate, to return to Phase 2. For restaurants, a rollback to Phase 2means a maximumof50% capacity in indoor dining rooms, with six-foot spacing. Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan, whichbeganonOct. 8, allows upto75% capacity with the samespacing. For somebusinesses, that’s an additional hardship during a difficult time.
Angelo Sakios, the owner of Olympic Restaurant on Boston Post Road in Willimantic, said he and his staff had been trying to figure out howto accommodate up to 75% capacity in the dining room, but then he got word of the Windham rollback.
“Wewerekindofexcited [about increased capacity], andthenoncethe news[of the rollback] came out, I knew people were going to be scared,” he said.
The phase 3 move would have added a “couple more” seats, he said. “It would’ve helped out a little bit...It’s not easy right now.”
Without any COVID restrictions, he can seat 67 guests in the dining room, he said. In theory, Olympic could seat about 33 guests, but depending on table spacing, and how manydiners are in each party, he isn’t always able to reach that number.
“I get it; we need to keep people safe,” he said. “But having a set rule, it doesn’t always apply to everyone. One size fits all, and that’s not fair and that’s not howit should be. Obviously the smaller places are at a disadvantage.”
Andy Gutt, the owner of Stone Row Kitchen + Bar on Main Street in Willimantic, said the rollback has had little effect on his restaurant’s capacity.
“We don’t have the indoor square footage to put back seats that were removed prior to the pandemic. I think at the current moment challenges lay with how many guests will continue to move to indoor dining.
“We’ve been nimble and tenacious throughout this ordeal to keep customers ordering. We’ve had to rebuild the engine, going 70 miles per hour using only spare parts over and over again. Profitability has been tossed out the window along with the kitchen sink at this point.”
At least four of the 11 communities on the “red-alert” list — Danbury, Norwich Windham and Griswold — are shifting to hold all K-12 classes remotely, while most others will continue to use a mixof in-person and online instruction.
Windham superintendent Tracy Youngberg announced in a letter to families Friday that students will shift from a hybrid to a full remote-learning model from Oct. 19-Oct. 30.
Rivers warnedresidents to be vigilant with everyone, not just strangers.
“It’s spreading amongfamilies and gatherings of different types, not so muchorganized gatherings ... unfortunately when people get together with their friends and family they’re letting their guards down,” Rivers said.