Connecticut on track for ‘baby step’ reopening May 20
Lamont says state likely to meet his seven criteria
Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday outlined seven criteria for partially reopening the state on May 20, and said Connecticut is on track to meet them, with a resumed trend of fewer hospitalizations for the second day in a row and an ambitious testing and contact tracing program coming together.
The first phase for reopening the state following two months of shutdowns and stay-at-home orders will be a “baby step,” Lamont said during his daily coronavirus news conference. He and members of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory
Group noted again that as outdoor dining, hair and nail salons and other small businesses reopen, strict social distancing protocols would be in place, including face masks and the use of tens of thousands of “fever meters” the state has ordered to measure people’s body temperature.
He warned businesses that if they weren’t ready to open May 20 with the protocols in place, they shouldn’t open.
The criteria for the first phase of the gradual reopening of Connecticut includes a 14-day decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations with no regional outbreaks, testing up to 42,000 people a week for the virus, sufficient contact tracing capacity, protecting vulnerable popula
tions, such as nursing home residents and employees and those who live in densely populated areas, having less than 20 percent of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients, a 30-day supply of personal protective equipment and appropriate workplace safeguards in place.
COVID-19 hospitalizations had declined for 12 straight days before rising on Tuesday, but Lamont characterized that as a “blip” and said they were down again, by 60 patients, as of Thursday, to 1,385 patients statewide.
Statewide cases totalled 31,784 as of Thursday, and overnight deaths increased by 79, to 2,797.
New London County had a total of 742 confirmed cases of the virus and 49 related deaths.
As of Thursday afternoon, Lawrence + Memorial was
treating 26 COVID-19 patients, which was an increase of two. Westerly Hospital had one patient, which was no change from Wednesday, and Backus Hospital was treating nine coronavirus patients compared to eight the previous day.
The state will be monitoring the metrics and will be prepared to shut down again if an outbreak occurs. Schools are planning to reopen in the fall, but also have a backup plan should that not be possible, the governor said.
Lamont said that he doesn’t see Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun opening on May 20, but that the state is monitoring casinos throughout the country and is in talks with the Mashantucket and Mohegan tribes about how to safely reopen.
Dining with masks
The first phase of the reopening plan allows for outdoor dining only at restaurants, beginning May 20 with staff and customers wearing masks and tables placed at least 6 feet apart to allow for social distancing. The governor said the state is working with municipalities and would be issuing guidance that would make it easier for restaurants to serve food and liquor outdoors.
Asked about indoor dining, Lamont described a “wait and see” approach without offering a specific date.
“The way the reopening committee has staged it makes all the sense in the world to me,” he said. “We’re going to get people back, they’re going to be outside, they’re going to feel comfortable, then if we don’t see a spike, we’ll move forward to inside.”
Hair and nail salons will also be able to reopen on May 20 with adequate hygiene measures in place.
Lamont said that testing capacity is increasing and that he would be issuing an executive order indicating a doctor’s approval is no longer necessary for those with symptoms of COVID-19 to go to testing sites. The state would have to nearly double its daily testing rate, which was 4,727 on Thursday, to meet the goal of 42,000 tests per week.
The state is “dramatically” increasing its testing, according to Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe, and is sending teams of people into its 215 licensed nursing homes to test residents and employees whether they have symptoms or not. He said that recent inspections of nursing homes have been mostly positive, with some issues about “donning and doffing” PPE noted, and that next week the state will begin reporting on the number of nursing home residents who have recovered from the coronavirus.
Three mobile testing vans are operating in urban areas, and Lamont said there were openings for testing at CVS Health’s Drive Thru testing site in New Haven.
The state’s supply of personal protective equipment is improving, and Lamont said he would make an announcement about a new source of equipment on Saturday.