As economy stirs to life, complaints flow in

Gov. Ned Lamont has effectively deputized state residents by providing multiple avenues for people to point out businesses that aren’t taking steps to reduce the chances of spreading the coronavirus.

Through Tuesday, more than 600 people had called the state’s existing 2-1-1 information line or visited a new website to lodge complaints.

But it is unclear to what avail. A spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development said the department is referring any complaints to local municipalities, with no plans otherwise to follow up.

“We do not have a feedback loop,” said spokesman Jim Watson, in an email. “We are not recommending or pursuing any penalties — that is all the job of local public health and local law enforcement.”

At the same time that customers have been empowered to police businesses, the governor has issued an executive order requiring establishment owners to attest to steps they have taken to prevent transmission of the virus.

The DECD has received more than 10,000 registrations from businesses statewide.

Businesses have the option — it is not a requirement — of printing and posting a “badge” they download at the completion of the certification process, intended to give customers confidence of safety.

Many establishments, however, have not complied with the order.

In Lamont’s hometown of Greenwich, DECD received fewer than 270 certifications. In Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city, fewer than 200 businesses had registered for compliance through last Thursday.

Most of the registrations received through last Thursday statewide were split about evenly between offices, restaurants, retailers and hair salons, with about 100 entities classifying themselves as outdoor recreation. That group included multiple fitness centers looking to get a jump on services in advance of Lamont’s expected June 20 OK for gyms to reopen with precautions.

Entering June, many Fairfield County and the large majority of Connecticut communities had yet to see any spike of coronavirus cases since Lamont’s May 20 reopening order. Nearly half as many residents of Bridgeport, Stamford and Greenwich were diagnosed over the ensuing 11 days compared to the equivalent window beforehand, with Norwalk cases off more than 60 percent as reported by the state of Connecticut.

But the trend lines were not heading down across the board, with the retail center of Danbury seeing its caseload of diagnosed coronavirus patients pop 20 percent; and the numbers up as well in Westport, Shelton, Ridgefield and Torrington.

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Greenwich Avenue diners in Greenwich on May 28. As of that date, fewer than 300 businesses in Greenwich had registered with under certification rules mandated by Connecticut to represent they are complying with measures to limit any spread of coronavirus.