Phase 2 of reopening remains unclear
The signs have just gone up: “Opening May 20.”
Tarps are under construction, sanitizer deliveries are on their way, reservations are available, and businesses are taking advantage of the one perk of being forced to close — the time to complete face lifts on their storefronts.
But even before patios opened and the blowdryers are fired up, the question is already being asked: what’s next?
Gov. Ned Lamont has said he’s working on a month-to-month basis, and he expects Phase 2 of
the state’s effort to reopen the economy will take place on June 20. As for what that entails, well, he’s a little less clear.
“Let’s let May 20 go, let’s see what happens in terms of activity,” Lamont said Friday during his daily news briefing, after several days of questions from reporters about what’s next.
He’s been keeping a close eye on the states that are moving ahead of Connecticut, like Georgia, which allowed businesses to reopen their doors almost a month ago. There, while there weren’t many flare-ups or new outbreaks of the virus, business has been slow to rebound. Some businesses chose to wait longer to reopen, while others found that even though they were open, consumer confidence that it was safe to go out wasn’t there.
“Let’s see what we can learn,” Lamont said. “It did not have the economic impact we thought it might have. Let’s figure out June 20 a little after May 20.”
Even so, discussions have begun behind the scenes about what might be included — or rather, not included — in the second round of reopening. It appears, based on conversation with the governor, his staff and members of the reopening committee, that the second phase could be the least incremental of all of the reopening phases.
“Over the next two to three weeks we’ll have a chance to analyze what the effects have been and that can give us some guidance on what to expect on June 20th,” Lamont said. “And as I suggested before you take that out right through the summer and think about what September of 2020 looks like and what we can think about in terms of schools and residence halls and such. Maybe everything is not a straight line. Maybe there’s some fallback. Maybe there’s some flareups that come in from Boston or some place.”
It’ll be up to Lamont, his team and an outside consulting firm hired for $2 million, Boston Consulting Group, to figure it out. Lamont is disbanding his 48-person advisory group, despite the fanfare with which it was announced. That volunteer committee, apparently, only signed up for one round of advising.
Lamont has offered his opinion on what might be included in later phases of reopening — like gyms, outdoor weddings, indoor concerts and more, which might all be in phases three or four of reopening.
Phase two could look more like an expansion on phase one — more capacity for restaurants, perhaps. Maybe a few more businesses reopen, maybe the allowable group size expands a little, that sort of thing.
All of it though, is subject to change.
“We have to adjust along the way. That was part of the advice we gave our universities, by the way,” Lamont said. “Rick Levin’s committee said assume you’ll be opening in September, but make sure if you have a contingency if you have to change course in early August, ‘cause we may have to give you the chance of notice. That’s the world in which we live.”