Name: As the pandemic again grows worse, why is Gov. Lamont resisting calls for another shutdown in Connecticut?
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As the pandemic again grows worse, why is Gov. Lamont resisting calls for another shutdown in Connecticut?

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantDec 06, 2020 at 6:00 amDuring the surge of COVID-19 infections in Connecticut this past spring, most residents got behind Gov. Ned Lamont’s sense of caution, as he swiftly restricted access to restaurants and gyms, ordered non-essential workers to work from home and mandated mask-wearing.Now, as COVID-19 hospitalizations spike and the state’s death toll Monday, Lamont is caught between two opposing forces, as some doctors call on him to shut the state down further due to rising COVID-19 hospitalizations, while economically beleaguered restaurants implore him to keep indoor dining open. Attentive to the state’s second wave of the virus yet reluctant to impose wider restrictions, Lamont has insisted that “we don’t have to do everything by fiat” and remains “hopeful that the curve could bend without having to take that drastic action.”AdvertisementConnecticut 35 deaths due to COVID-19 and a 5.52% daily test positivity rate Friday, following a 7.13% COVID-19 test positivity rate — the highest daily rate since the end of May — Thursday.Elsewhere in the United States, some states are bracing for harsher measures. In California, where hospital ICUs could reach capacity in mid-December according to new projections, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday issued severe restrictions by saying restaurants, bars and businesses will be shut down when ICU capacity in hospitals dips below 15%.AdvertisementConnecticut is already one of the most restrictive states in the country when it comes to COVID-19 protocols, according to a recent New York Times . But last month, New Haven Haven Mayor Justin Elicker to prohibit indoor dining. And more recently, dozens of doctors to shut down indoor dining and gyms due to an “incredibly concerning” spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Lamont met with the doctors Tuesday, though he to adopt their recommendations.Max Reiss, Lamont’s spokesperson, said Friday that if Connecticut continues to see “hockey stick growth”— a sharp, continued spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations — ”I don’t think he’d rule out potential additional action.”Here is a look at the issues Gov. Lamont is facing as pressure grows for an expanded shutdown.In their Nov. 24 letter to Lamont, thirty-five doctors and a nurse who work directly with COVID-19 patients wrote that “Based on what we know about the epidemiology of COVID-19, we are confident that a decision to close indoor dining and gyms and ban all other unnecessary public gatherings would protect our citizens from this lethal disease, keep our hospitals and caregivers from becoming overwhelmed, and save lives.”The letter has grown to include more than 500 signatures. Lamont spoke with some of the doctors this week and, though he has not acted on the recommendations, said he remains committed to hearing their input.“If I say close the restaurants tomorrow, it’s not like everybody goes home and sits with the TV dinner on their lap,” he said last week. “This takes persuasion and people understand what you’re trying to do and why you’re trying to do it. And every step of the way, we lead with public health. But I understand more than ever the urgency [doctors] feel and what we’re trying to do to support our hospitals, especially over the next month, until the vaccines get going.”Keith Grant, system director of infection prevention with Hartford HealthCare, said in an unrelated press call that the basic science of infection spread supports any measures to limit gatherings.“With the gyms what we know is with an increase in respiratory rate and respiratory effort, you increase the ability to potentially pass the virus on,” he said.AdvertisementEven as COVID-19 cases rise, restaurant owners have implored Lamont to keep their businesses open. The Connecticut restaurant industry employs over 100,000 people and forcing them to close would inflict severe economic harm. Without more federal help for small businesses — which may not arrive until February — there’s very little to cushion the economic blow for restaurants.“We can just look to other places that have unfortunately rolled back beyond where we are,” said Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, pointing to Michigan, Oregon, New Mexico, and cities like Philadelphia and Chicago, where closures are spiking.“You have over 600 restaurants that have already shuttered either completely or do not have a date for reopening,” Dolch said of Connecticut. “That number is growing by the day.”In the first three weeks of the pandemic, 85,000 restaurant workers in Connecticut went on unemployment during what Dolch described as “one of the darkest times we’ve probably ever faced across the country in the history of our industry.”The restaurant industry has to allow indoor dining to continue and create a new grant program to support struggling restaurants, in addition to the support made available through the state’s CARES Act funds.A businessmen himself, Lamont has expressed sympathy with the plight of small businesses and restaurants; the state recently sent out 10,000 checks of $5,000 to small businesses. But he says there is only so much he can do without additional federal pandemic relief.Advertisement“We really need the federal government to help us take the lead,” he said Thursday. “We can provide a bridge, we can provide some support, but that it is a federal responsibility. They’ve been derelict there.”When pressed on why restaurants and gyms remain open, Lamont often defers to the logic that if Connecticut acts alone in instituting further restrictions, residents could just cross over states lines to go to restaurants, gyms or stores.Throughout the pandemic, Connecticut’s tri-state partnership with New York and New Jersey has been a key consideration in guiding the state’s response to the virus. In mid-March, when Connecticut had just 41 cases of COVID-19, Lamont joined Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in ordering the of bars, restaurants, gyms and movie theaters. In June, the three governors united again to announce a 14-day self-quarantine for travelers arriving from states with surging COVID-19 cases. The tri-state leaders have continued to collaborate on travel advisories .“Every week we look at the numbers and we’re going to react accordingly to do everything we can to keep people safe,” Lamont said at a press conference Thursday. “Every week I’m talking to my fellow governors as their metrics change as well. Obviously when it comes to things that are opened and closed, doing things on a regional basis are so much more effective than doing them by ourselves.”In New York and New Jersey, restaurants, retail shops, hair salons, houses of worship and other spaces remain open. But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo indicated recently the state may soon roll out emergency restrictions in response to a severe spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Cuomo said that if hospitals reach capacity, he was prepared to order a regional shutdown or pause.“We are not going to live through the nightmare of overwhelmed hospitals again,” Cuomo .AdvertisementCuomo has favored targeted restrictions in specific areas, his “micro-cluster initiative,” over broad-brushstroke shutdowns, according to . Almost 1,000 New York residents died of COVID-19 in November, the of monthly fatalities since June.Even so, Lamont has hesitated to follow New York’s actions in lockstep. He noted Tuesday that New York is a “much bigger state” than Connecticut and that Cuomo was expanding hospital capacity through a number of ways, including in Erie County, where COVID-19 cases are particularly high.New York City has also moved to require in-person students and staff to be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis, but Lamont said Monday that he will not mandate something similar in Connecticut.“We’ll also probably do what we can to the schools, not necessarily on a mandatory basis, but at least make it more readily available for people,” Lamont said.Rhode Island has instituted some of the most dramatic measures in New England to stem the spread of the virus: Gov. Gina Raimondo instituted a two-week “pause,” which began Monday, as state hospitals reached capacity and two field hospitals opened. Raimondo has indicated that if COVID-19 cases continue to climb, a full lockdown could follow the end of the pause.“I’ll own these decisions, which aren’t easy,” she said recently, . “But I feel it’s the only option that we have right now to save as many lives as we can.”AdvertisementRhode Island’s pause has shut down businesses including bowling alleys, theaters, casinos, gyms and indoor sporting facilities, and bars. Restaurants are limited to a third of indoor capacity and houses of worships are limited to 25% capacity. Companies are also ordered to have most employees work from home and Raimondo has urged residents not to gather with those outside of their family.To lessen the blow of the temporary shut down on business employees, Rhode Island is providing relief through a $100 million package, funded through the federal CARES Act. Half will go to businesses forced to close or reduce hours during the pause, with businesses eligible for grants of up to $50,000. The remaining $50 million will go to state residents, including an additional $400 for those receiving unemployment benefits during the pause ($200 per week).As it happensGet the latest updates on Coronavirus and other breaking news events happening across Connecticut &gt; Connecticut received about $1.4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds, which has been used to support small businesses, non-profits, and other entities impacted by the pandemic. Through the CARES Act, nearly across the state received loans through the federal paycheck protection program. This fall, the Connecticut CARES Small Business Grant Program was created to give $5,000 grants to small businesses.Asked on a radio program last week about whether the state would consider shutting down between Christmas and New Year’s — for a temporary “pause” like Rhode Island’s — Lamont indicated that it was “a possibility.”But he walked that back during his daily press briefing Thursday, saying that he did not plan to close restaurants down in the near future.“At this point, no plans to change. I think we’re doing pretty well,” he said.AdvertisementReiss said that Lamont remains most committed to working on a regional basis with New York and New Jersey.“The governor continues to look at the entire situation holistically and isn’t ruling anything out.”Eliza Fawcett can be reached at . Michael Hamad can be reached at . Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantDec 06, 2020 at 6:00 amDuring the surge of COVID-19 infections in Connecticut this past spring, most residents got behind Gov. Ned Lamont’s sense of caution, as he swiftly restricted access to restaurants and gyms, ordered non-essential workers to work from home and mandated mask-wearing.Now, as COVID-19 hospitalizations spike and the state’s death toll Monday, Lamont is caught between two opposing forces, as some doctors call on him to shut the state down further due to rising COVID-19 hospitalizations, while economically beleaguered restaurants implore him...

As the pandemic again grows worse, why is Gov. Lamont resisting calls for another shutdown in Connecticut?

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