Indoor dining, gyms, salons, tattoo parlors, hotels, libraries can all open in Connecticut on Wednesday. Phase Two reopening was supposed to start on Saturday, but Governor Ned Lamont wanted to avoid opening on Father’s Day weekend.
Connecticut businesses are adapting to new safety rules ahead of the reopening.
Most businesses will have to limit capacity to 50%. Face masks are to be worn.
Hotels will have to modify room service, and movie theaters will have to visually mark off six feet of social distance. Hair salons are by appointment only and spaced so customers don’t overlap.
Tables and bar seating in restaurants must be at least six feet apart, though they can be closer if there are physical barriers between customers and staff. Live performers in restaurants don’t need to wear masks, but they must be 12 feet from the nearest person, including other performers. Self-serve stations like buffets, salad bars and soda fountains are not allowed, and condiments need to be individually portioned.
Maritza Bond, director of the New Haven Health Department, says it’s critical that customers and staff limit contact.
“You want to just make sure there’s a safe distance between the customer and the staff person, so you know, I’ve seen like four feet plexiglass. It really depends on the station that you have in front of you.”
Bond says business owners must also log regular temperature screenings of their employees and says there will be random inspections to make sure businesses are following regulations. She recommends businesses self-monitor for compliance with state guidelines.
Violations of the rules in Connecticut can be reported to 211.
Three people died in Connecticut from COVID-19 in the last reported 24 hours.
