By Dan Nowak
CDTC Communications Staff

CHESHIRE—Chesprocott Health District director Maura Esposito said the Phase I reopening of businesses in the district’s towns of Cheshire, Prospect and Wolcott went smoothly the past week, but many businesses anxious to reopen have been reaching out with questions.

“Local businesses that aren’t open are getting anxious,” Esposito said. “They see places like malls opening and they wonder why they have to wait. It’s all about the science. Malls have wide open places and social distancing is easier to do as opposed to smaller businesses with smaller space inside.
"In closed quarters, like a small business,  where you are in a confined space, the risk to get the virus goes up due to the virus load and time exposure. One place anxious to reopen is Elim Park Independent Living. They put setups outdoors for visitors to visit so they can comply with social distancing. We’ve been communicating with officials there to discuss reopening guidelines.”


​Chesprocott chief sanitarian Susan Lonczak said business owners are realizing that it is going to be interesting moving forward.

“Business operators are adjusting to a new normal,” Lonczak said. “They are balancing their preparation to reopen with doing things right. Salons were upset they couldn’t reopen when restaurants opened. But it helped us to have only restaurants open because we could focus on that part of the business community.
“Salons will reopen on June 1 and their operators realize new adjustments must be made. We are all communicating to see that guidelines are met, and people are safe.”

Esposito and Lonczak are also dealing with other entities that want to reopen.

“We’ve been working with the Legions of Christ with weekly meetings,” Esposito said. “They are concerned with transitioning new people into their community safely and they are doing their best to comply with guidelines. I’ve had discussions with Cheshire Community Pool director Sheila Adams and she wants to reopen.
“Sheila and I will talk this week. Pools will reopen June 20 (first day of Phase II). She has her plan on how she wants to open the pool and she has some good ideas. We are on the same page because her priority is the safety of residents. Holiday Hill has many different aspects of what they do in addition to the huge summer camps they run. They also do outing events and we will discuss what recreation thing is allowed and what isn’t allowed.”

Lonczak also said there are more public pools in addition to the Cheshire Community Pool that need to follow guidelines when they reopen.

“Public pools, like condo association pools, are all being urged to stay closed for now,” Lonczak said. “Pools will reopen in Phase II. What we are doing at Chesprocott is conducting training sessions with different businesses. We are meeting one and one with all businesses to discuss guidelines that need to be followed.
“Yoga studios, daycare centers, salons, and pool operators all have questions and discussing with us the process they have to undergo to reopen.”

Esposito said the staff at Chesprocott will do what they can to make the business reopenings go smoothly and safely.

“A lot of people are calling us to pass things through us to get an understanding of what needs to be done,” Esposito said. “There is a lot of discussion with many people. It isn’t easy for business owners. They need to adjust to the new norm. When pools reopen there must be constant sanitization and bathrooms must be constantly cleaned and sanitized.
“Social distancing has to be put in place. We have had discussions with church leaders like Cheshire Bible Chapel (Phil Belcher) and Cornerstone Church on Waterbury Road. At Chesprocott we are providing faith-based organizations and health regulated businesses with PPE when they need it.”

In other Chesprocott news, contact tracing is on hold while state officials work out the kinks to get it going. Esposito said most likely it will start on June 1.

Chesprocott public health specialist Kate Glendon has been working on Zoom support meetings and the staff has been producing videos.
Each Wednesday at 7 p.m. moving forward, in conjunction with the Cheshire Library, residents can join in a virtual Zoom discussion on how you can cope with COVID-19. You can register for the meeting by going to https://cheshirelibrary.libcal.com.

And if you think COVID-19 is all Chesprocott must worry about, think again. It is also tick season and Chesprocott will offer an information Zoom meeting for this as well. The “Everything You Need” Zoom web meeting on how to safeguard yourself from ticks will be held on June 15 at 10:30 a.m. Call 203-272-8286 to register with your email, by June 12.

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Connecticut Indivisible, one of the nationewide chapters in the national Indivisble movement. is urging Connecticut voters to contact their local legislators to get a law passed to allow for mail-in or absentee voting this fall.
​
It is an effort by Connecticut Indivisible to have voters avoid getting the coronavirus by avoiding the big crowds during Primary election day on Aug. 11 and during the general election in November on Election Day on Nov. 3.

Indivisible is a grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.

"It's important in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to have our leaders act now to help Connecticut voters and keep them safe in the upcoming August primary and the November general elections," said Harold "Hap" Jordan, a  Cheshire Democratic Town Committee member and Connecticut Indivisible member. "The Connecticut General Assembly must hold a special session as soon as possible to revise the voting statute to permit any voter who is concerned about contracting COVID-19 at the polls to vote by mail. Our state leaders must act quickly so that no one is forced to choose between their right to vote and their health."

Connecticut Indivisible officials are asking Connecticut voters to contact their State Senator and State Representative. You can go to this link to find your local State Senator or State Representative - https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgafindleg.asp. When you find your state legislator's page, fill out your personal information, click on Find and then click on the State Representative/State Senate link to access their email address.

When on the Find Your Legislator page, fill out your personal information, click on Find, click on the State Senate/Representative District link in order to access their email address and then send your elected official an email.
​
Connectciut Indivisible make's it easy by offering the following "cut and paste" message you can use. Make sure to fill in your information in the {brackets} areas:

Dear {name of elected official},

My name is {your name} and I am a constituent of yours. I live at {your address}. I am emailing you today to strongly urge you to hold a special legislative session to revise the voting statute to permit any voter who is concerned about contracting COVID-19 at the polls to vote by absentee ballot. I am writing to you because during this pandemic I must be free to exercise my right to vote from the safety of my home. I should not have to choose between my right to vote and protecting my health.

Sincerely,
{your name}

By Dan Nowak
CDTC Communications Staff

CHESHIRE—While the impact of COVID-19 in Cheshire, Wolcott and Prospect put a strain on the staff at Chesprocott Health District in March and April, Chesprocott Director Maura Esposito and her staff are feeling a little more upbeat these days.

The number of COVID confirmed cases in the three towns Chesprocott oversees are easing up and plans are being made for the slow return of retail businesses, especially with the soft re-opening of local restaurants with outdoor dining.

“April was like a fog, but now we’re getting closer to being over the hump,” Esposito said. “Today (Wednesday) we have 266 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 21 fatalities, but we’re slowing down. We only have one case reported today and haven’t had any fatalities in our three towns the last three days. There was a time we were averaging 5-7 COVID-19 cases per day and now we are down to one or two a day (all three towns combined). 
“Hopefully, this is a sign we are on the downward part of the curve. Obviously, things could change. But what is happening now is a direct result of people in our district taking social distancing seriously. People have stepped up. They are wearing masks and they are staying home. All those things have contributed to the downward trend. Now, we’re preparing to get some of our businesses back open.”

The target date for retail businesses to begin with a soft opening is May 20. One of the businesses hardest hit by the impact of COVID-19 is restaurants. They will have a gradual opening with outdoor dining and no inside dining.   

Only restaurants with outdoor dining permits from Chesprocott and permits from local Zoning Departments will be allowed to have outdoor dining.

“We are working on a limited opening for retail businesses like salons and restaurants and waiting for Gov. Lamont to submit planning info,” Susan Lonczak, Chesprocott chief sanitarian, said. “Restaurants will be allowed to do outdoor dining with limited capacity seating while still doing social distancing. 
“Everyone is starting to plan for this and we have our own ideas on how to do it. But we still need to see the governor’s planning information. The important thing to note is not every restaurant can just put tables and chairs outside for outside dining. They need to have the proper permission to do it.”

Restaurants like the Victorian House and Viron Rondo Osteria who have permission and already offer outdoor dining will be among those in town allowed to reopen.

“People at restaurants can’t just grab tables and seats and put them in their parking lot and call that outdoor dining,” Lonczak said. “First, that would be a health hazard because you wouldn’t want someone driving through a parking lot and hit someone. They need permission to hold outdoor dining."

Lonczak also said businesses will have to follow OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidelines when they reopen. The Chesprocott staff will be putting together a list of restaurants that have approval for outdoor services.

“With business re-openings approaching, we are figuring the best plan of attack for a smooth reopening,” Lonczak said. “The first two weeks we (Chesprocott) will visit businesses to make sure they are complying with guidelines like capacity restrictions and social distancing. We will visit restaurants to make sure they have the proper permits to conduct outdoor dining. 
“This has been an unchartered time for businesses who have been under duress and suffering economically. We know it’s been tough and we want businesses to reopen, but we need to do it slowly with the proper guidelines once the governor produces specific documentation on how he wants it done. Restaurants, salons, office buildings and other businesses will all reopen with guidelines. While everything will reopen, things will also look different everywhere with some limitations."

Esposito said she is looking forward to starting the slow process of getting things back to some sort of normalcy. But like all officials, she is taking a wait and see approach.

“Northeast health officials and leaders, especially in the tri-state area of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, are watching the other states that have decided to open early,” Esposito said. “We are watching these states open up and we are looking at what happens to you. We will be learning from their lessons and what impact there is with opening early. 
“Connecticut, New York and New Jersey are united with a strong public health presence. A lot of decisions are being made by economics, but there are public health concerns. Public health and the well-being of people are my concerns."

Lastly, extensive contact tracing statewide is expected to begin soon. On Wednesday, the Connecticut Health Department had a web meeting scheduled with all local health districts to finalize state guidelines to get it done. This includes using many levels of technology to do the job, a daunting task seeing that most health districts have a limited staff of 5-7 people. Chesprocott has a staff of six.