On Friday, life in Connecticut edges closer to what it was like before COVID.
Not normal, but light normal. Cautious normal, even.
Capacity limits ordered last year by Gov. Ned Lamont are off the books at a wide range of everyday facilities, including restaurants, offices, stores, libraries and gyms.
But other executive orders live on. The mask mandate is still in place, businesses must continue to maintain upgraded sanitation procedures, and six-foot social distancing remains the rule.
"Our great restaurants have earned the right to get up to 100% capacity," says Lamont. "I want you to make sure that while we're opening, keep your caution, pop your head in, make sure that restaurant is maintaining the protocols so you feel comfortable going back indoors."
100% sounds like a full room, but with those protocols in place, few if any restaurants will be truly full. Randy McNamara, CEO of Geno's Restaurant Group, says the remaining guidelines still limit potential business at Cafe Aura in Manchester.
"We can seat 300 in the restaurant," says McNamara, "but socially distanced, we're at 150. We can't add any more people when you socially distance the tables at six feet apart. We can't add one more seat, in other words."
Restaurants still face an 11 pm curfew. Bars and nightclubs remain closed, as they have been for a full year.
