Here’s the latest on the coronavirus outbreak in the region:
Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont says restaurants that follow social distancing will be able to reopen with outdoor service on Wednesday.
Some owners say outdoor-only sales will not be enough to sustain their businesses and are pushing to open their dining rooms at 50% capacity, and eliminate shared items, like menus and condiments.
Lamont says he would like to see indoor dining by June 20, a possible date for the second phase of reopening the state.
Connecticut’s two tribal-run casinos have extended their shutdown for at least another two weeks. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler told Hearst Connecticut Media that it’s unlikely Foxwoods would reopen for Memorial Day.
Sailfest, one of the most popular summer attractions in eastern Connecticut, has been canceled. New London Mayor Mike Passero says it was a tough decision.
“All parties have been working together to make a decision and because unfortunately of the pandemic, it just would not be responsible or safe, or perhaps not even lawful, to plan that festival for mid-July.”
The event draws visitors with tall ships, rides, entertainment, a road race and an open-air market on Main Street. Instead, organizers say Sailfest 2020 will feature a virtual 5k race, where runners can sign up and participate on their own time. Online fireworks and entertainment will also be arranged.
The Connecticut Department of Correction has suspended showers for inmates in quarantine and medical isolation units.
Connecticut has 522 new cases and 84 people have died. The number of hospitalizations continues to decline.
In New York, deaths have fallen below 200 for the third straight day. But new cases are up statewide, to 2,175. 400 were on Long Island, and 140 were in Westchester County.
Town supervisors on eastern Long Island want beach communities to be safely operational by Memorial Day.
There’s a bipartisan call in New York for an independent investigation into the state health department’s possible mishandling of the pandemic response at nursing homes.
Read the latest on WSHU’s coronavirus coverage here.
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