The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Expert: Follow gathering rules or face another lockdown
The coronavirus — and Gov. Ned Lamont’s new 10-person gathering limit — has ruined Joe Christinat’s holiday plans.
The Norwalk resident says he’s canceling family plans for Christmas with their grandparents and a neighborhood New Year’s Eve party.
“The governor’s decision is smart, but heartbreaking,” he said. “We will follow the rules. … It has killed all our plans, (but I’m) not mad at Lamont. It’s the prudent move.”
But it’s unknown whether other Connecticut residents will be as willing to comply with the governor’s latest order.
The 10-person limit on private indoor and outdoor social gatherings came as the state has seen a steady rise in new COVID-19 cases. While some local officials are urging people to comply with the restrictions through the holidays, the limitations have also drawn criticism from restaurant owners and residents apparently weary of following the rules.
The governor admitted residents in private homes will be on the “honor system” when it comes to restricting the number of people who congregate. But he also expressed optimism that Connecticut residents would adhere to the rules.
Dr. Jaime Meyer, an infectious disease physician at Yale Medicine and associate professor for medicine at Yale Medical School, has a stern warning for Connecticut residents: Adhere to the governor’s guidance or face another lockdown.
She pointed to Connecticut’s rising positivity rates and increasing levels of community transmission, as well as people getting “sloppy” with following restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus — especially in private.
“I think that this is sort of a tightening of the belt,” Meyer said. “I think if people can’t do these things, and we do see rising cases in this community, and it goes up and up over the winter as many of us anticipate that it will — then we’ll go back into lockdown. That’s where we’re headed.”
Dr. David Banach, head of infection prevention at UConn Health, said a second lockdown is hard to predict and would depend on the “degree of incline.”
“We know that the spreading occurs in gatherings,” he said. “That’s been pretty well demonstrated that small group gatherings are really where we’re seeing transmission occurring in Connecticut based on the contact tracing.”
Prior to COVID, Meyer spent most of her time working with people living with or at risk of contracting HIV. She said it’s often difficult to convince people to change their lifestyle, despite the health risks.
“Asking people to change their behavior is really hard, no matter where you are,” she said.
Some municipalities have made adjustments.
At Bunnell High School in Stratford, a band event was moved up to Nov. 5 so it could be held — outside, with social distance measures in place.
And school staff members have twice scheduled an ice cream truck to visit the campus, only to have to cancel. The school was closed for two weeks due to coronavirus cases.
Assistant Principal Frank Tatto said it can be difficult to keep track of all the new restrictions.
“It’s hard to keep up, but we all have our roles,” he said. “These things happen. Let’s try to keep our chins up and look forward to the next thing.”
“There’s a lot of lemons,” Tatto added. “We’re trying to work on a little more lemonade.”
But the governor’s latest round of restrictions have also drawn criticism from some residents and business owners.
In particular, restaurant owners have complained about a new dining curfew, which took effect Friday. Lamont said all restaurants must close their dining areas at 10 p.m., which is 30 minutes later than he originally called for last week. There are also new restrictions on indoor capacity and the number of people allowed to be seated at a table.
The Connecticut Restaurant Association released a statement last week, noting the changes will be hard on the state’s food service industry, which is still recovering from the first lockdown.
An online petition, calling for the state to lift the curfew on dine-in service, has gathered more than 19,000 signatures as of Monday.
Meanwhile, some local officials are trying to spread Lamont’s message, which includes recommending residents stay home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
For Bob Lions, a member of Stamford’s Board of Representatives, the governor’s latest guidance confirmed his decision not to travel for the holidays.
Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi said he spoke with the Women’s Club last week about asking families to limit their gatherings over Thanksgiving.
While he said Ridgefielders have mostly been good about wearing masks, he raised concern about college students coming home for the holiday. He said some residents may also feel it’s not necessary to adhere to the gathering limit.
For those people, Marconi, who survived his own bout with COVID-19, had a message.
“We need your compliance,” he said. “You could be the one who’s asymptomatic and a spreader. So at the very least, please get tested.”