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May 28, 2020

Phase 2 business reopening begins June 20. Or not.

HBJ Photo | Joe Cooper A view outside the Connecticut Convention Center.
By Michael C. Bingham

Gov. Ned Lamont likes to brag that Connecticut shut down relatively fewer sectors of its economy than many other states. But it’s also true that his state began its formal “reopening” process later than any of the other 49, on May 20.

That may prove to have been a miscalculation with profound consequences for both businesses and the people who work at them — that is, most people. But the health of the patient will not be fully evident until all Connecticut companies are permitted to reopen. Only then will the rest of us be in a position to witness and measure which businesses are still standing — and which are gone forever.

In Lamont’s three-stage reopening scheme, the good news is that Phase 1 at least is underway — unless your business is a hair salon or barber shop, in which case Lamont changed his mind on May 18 and delayed the mandated reopening of those businesses until June 1.

Phase 2 is scheduled to arrive June 20 — the same day as summer. But that date has an asterisk because, well, you never know. Lamont’s office proclaims that “The state will only move to Phase 2 upon achievement of public-health metrics.”

Those metrics include:

  • A continuing decline in transmission — defined as a less than 100-bed net increase in hospitalizations in the last week of Phase 1.
  • Testing and contact tracing — including attainment of 100,000 weekly tests statewide milestone, as well as “more than 50% of identified contacts within 48 hours.”
  • Business and social safeguards — rules and regulations for companies in Phase 2 to have been disseminated two weeks before Phase 2 begins. Maybe that means June 6. Maybe not.
  • Protection for critical and at-risk people — testing plan for key workers and priority high-risk communities to have been implemented.
  • Health-care capacity — less than 20% of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients as a percentage of total peak bed capacity.

Sounds like a big maybe. In addition, Lamont’s office announced “Risks that we are monitoring and actively managing” as conditions for beginning Phase 2. These include a second surge of the COVID outbreak, delays in ramping up testing and/or “residents’ willingness to take tests,” PPE procurement problems as well as delays in the deployment of, and citizen participation in, contact tracing.

If any of those risks come to fruition, then Phase 2 could happen, like, whenever.

One “metric” about June 20 you can take to the bank: It will be the longest day of the year. For sure.

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1 Comments

Anonymous
May 28, 2020

It’s appalling that the Governor has been allowed. His job is to Govern FOR the people not rule OVER the people. The goal was to flatten the curve, not flatten the economy. And now he’s holding schools reopening over our heads holding our children’s education hostage. If we followed the data, we’re actually in Phase 2 and could be in Phase 3 this summer. His reactive decision-making is an over-reach of authority over businesses and he should be held accountable.

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