Gov. Ned Lamont held his daily press briefing from the State Capitol at 4 pm. Tuesday.
He was joined by Dr. Deidre Gifford, commissioner of the Department of Social Services and acting commissioner of the Department of Public Health; and David Lehman, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development.
Overall cases in Connecticut continue to trend downward along with current hospitalizations. The state now has confirmed 45,349 people who have tested positive for the virus and 201 current hospitalizations. As of Tuesday, 4,210 people have died due to the virus.
Fairfield County has 1,055 confirmed and 295 probable COVID-associated deaths. Hartford County has the second most deaths in the state with 1,025 confirmed deaths and 305 probable deaths.
On Wednesday, it's expected that the state will enter Phase 2 of the reopening. Restrictions on restaurants, public spaces, and other businesses are expected to be eased.
Here is what will be allowed to reopen in phase two:
- Amusement Parks (up to 25% capacity)
- Hotels / Lodging
- Restaurants (indoor, no bar -- current table limit is 25)
- Museums, zoos, and aquariums
- Indoor recreation (e.g., bowling alleys, movie theaters, etc.)
- Libraries
- Outdoor arts, entertainment and events (up to 50 people)
- Personal services (e.g., nail salons, tattoo parlors, etc.)
- Sports and fitness facilities (e.g., gyms, fitness centers, pools, etc.)
During phase two, restaurants are permitted to welcome patrons back in for indoor dining. However, the current table limit is 25 people and bars are still not allowed. What can customers expect?
- Indoor waiting areas will be closed
- Visual markers to encourage 6 ft social distancing
- Buffet and self-serve stations eliminated
- Amenities non-essential to businesses main function (e.g. dance floor, pool table) closed or removed
- Employees to not share equipment. If shared, clean after each use
- Servers should serve specific zones in the restaurant to minimize overlap, where possible
- Businesses are strongly encouraged to use no-touch or disposable options for menus (e.g. phone app, whiteboard). If no-touch or disposable options are not utilized, businesses must sanitize menus between uses
- Use single use packets or containers
- Utensils should be rolled or packaged
- Install touchless appliances wherever possible, including: contactless payments, paper towel dispensers, soap dispensers, trash cans
Gov. Ned Lamont's office released its daily update Sunday afternoon on stats in the state's fight against the Coronavirus, indicating the downward trend in the figures.
As of Sunday, 45,088 people have tested positive, an increase of 94; Fifteen more people have died, 4,201 people have died; 205 people are currently hospitalized which is a decrease of 28 and 347,190 more tests have been reported bringing the total to 4,852.