An illustration of the new coronavirus COVID-19. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.
Connecticut’s third reopening phase is set to begin Thursday, a milestone during the coronavirus pandemic that is getting a lukewarm reception from some business owners and arts aficionados.
A number of restaurant owners say they won’t be able to reach the new 75 percent capacity limit for indoor dining because they don’t have the space, primarily due to the requirement that tables be at least 6 feet apart. The indoor capacity maximum is being increased from 50 percent.
Indoor performing arts venues will be allowed to open beginning Thursday at 50 percent capacity, while outdoor event venues will be allowed to increase their capacity from 25 percent to 50 percent, with required masks and social distancing at all locations. But many theaters and concert venues have decided not to open this week, as shows already have been canceled and many say they can’t make money with half-full facilities.
“If we do 6 feet between people, we’re actually at less than 20 percent capacity,” Cynthia Rider, the managing director at Hartford Stage, said Wednesday. “So the rules don’t allow us to open in any way that’s financially feasible. We also can’t do 6 feet of social distancing backstage. I think for most producing and presenting theaters, the new guidelines just aren’t there yet for us. But we hope people will go to some of the venues that are able to reopen.”
The Phase 3 reopening comes as Connecticut has seen a slight uptick in coronavirus cases. Nearly 140 people were hospitalized as of Wednesday, up from 50 from a month ago and the highest number since late June. The positive test rate for the virus was less than 1 percent over most of the summer, but has edged up to around 1.5 percent recently.
More than 59,000 people in the state have tested positive and more than 4,500 have died from the virus.
Under the new reopening phase, restaurants are required to keep groups of diners 6 feet apart or separated by partitions of plexiglass or other materials. Capacity at libraries and businesses that provide personal services, such as hair salons, will also increase from 50 percent to 75 percent.
Indoor social gatherings at commercial establishments will be limited to 100 people or 50 percent capacity while gatherings at private residences will continue to be capped at 25. Graduations and religious gatherings will be capped at 200 people or 50 percent capacity, with masks and social distancing. Most stand-alone bars and nightclubs remain shuttered.
Gina Legnani-Pellrine, owner of Rodd’s Restaurant in Bristol, said she doesn’t have the room in her breakfast-and-lunch establishment to get to 75 percent capacity. She has put up wood partitions separating her booths, but they are often occupied by one person because she hasn’t been able to reopen her counter area due to virus-related restrictions.
“It won’t help me get more people in. It won’t help me seat more people,” she said of the higher capacity limit. “But it might help people in their minds think, ‘Well, they relaxed the restrictions. Maybe we can go.’ But there are also a lot of people who are reluctant.”
Dozens of restaurants around the state have closed because of the virus and the related state operating restrictions, said Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association. He said the new capacity limits are a good step forward, but many restaurants don’t have room to boost capacity amid the 6-foot separation requirement.
The recent uptick in virus cases recently prompted Foxwoods Resort Casino to announce that it will continue operating at 25 percent capacity.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday said the state will give 65 libraries $2.6 million from Connecticut’s coronavirus relief funds to help them increase services, particularly to low-income communities, as they are being allowed to boost capacity to 75 percent beginning Thursday.
