DUBOIS BEACH IN STONINGTON TO REOPEN SATURDAY CHINESE SISTER STATE GIVES 5,000 MASKS TO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Stonington — The Stonington Community Center has announced that duBois Beach, the small beach at Stonington Point, will open to the public on Saturday with a host of social distancing restrictions.

The beach will be open only on weekends until June 22, when weekday operation will begin through Labor Day. The beach is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A season pass or day pass is required to access the beach and the community center is asking people to buy passes online to minimize contact with the beach gatekeeper.

The center also is implementing a list of social distancing requirements.

There must be 6 feet between people as they enter, visit and exit the beach; no more than five people may gather in a group; there must be 15 feet or more between beach blankets and face coverings must be worn if people are within 6 feet of others. Lifeguards will monitor social distancing and have the right to ask those not following guidelines to leave the beach.

Once the beach is at capacity, lifeguards will have the right to deny access to season pass holders

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut has received 5,000 surgical masks from Shandong Province, Connecticut’s sister state, Chamber President Tony Sheridan said Tuesday.

Sheridan said it was a “wonderful surprise” when the Shandong Province governor’s staff called about two and a half weeks ago, and asked if there was anything Connecticut needed. Sheridan said personal protective equipment.

Sheridan said three boxes of 5,000 surgical masks arrived Monday. He said they had been sitting at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska, as customs wouldn’t release them until the chamber filled out the appropriate forms to become an importer.

He said the chamber will set up a process to distribute the masks to its members — particularly small businesses — and first responders, if needed.

Sheridan had traveled on a trip to Shandong Province that the U.S. Department of Commerce sponsored in 2015. He made contacts that facilitated the visit of a 13-member delegation from the province to eastern Connecticut two months later.