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Jesse Costa / WBUR
Gov. Ned Lamont has announced he will lift capacity restrictions for most businesses in Connecticut on March 19.
Restaurants, fitness centers, retail offices, personal services and houses of worship will be allowed to open at 100 percent capacity as long as 6 feet of distance is maintained.
Lamont said at his Thursday coronavirus briefing that the metrics remain in the right place and Connecticut has earned it.
“It feels really good,” he said. “It feels good we are able to do this. It feels good that we have been slowly reopening since May 20, and we really haven’t had to turn back. I hope to God we don’t have to turn back this time.”
By Paul Hughes, Republican-American
HARTFORD â Gov. Ned Lamont is lifting coronavirus-related capacity limits on businesses, houses of worships, and entertainment and sports venues while still mandating masking, spacing and other public health requirements.
Lamont joined a growing number of governors who are now easing restrictions intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 despite warnings from health officials and medical professionals for states not to let their guards down now.
The changes announced Thursday are the most sweeping revisions since Lamont started to gradually ease a partial shutdown of the economy last May 20 after he locked down the state last March and April.
Citing the state’s success in containing COVID-19, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday he’ll roll back capacity restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in a couple of weeks while keeping in place an 11 p.m. curfew and doubling down on such safety protocols as mask-wearing, social distancing and frequent cleaning.
“This is not Texas, this is not Mississippi,” Lamont said during a virtual news briefing. “This is Connecticut. We are maintaining the masks. . We have a much lower rate of infection than those maskless states, and we’re going to keep going with what works.”
As of March 19, restaurants will be allowed to operate at 100% capacity, though they still will have to limit seating to eight people per table and observe the curfew. Bars that only serve alcohol will be required to stay closed “a little bit longer,” the governor said.