Connecticut to Lift All Business Restrictions May 19

While an employee washes her hands, Ron Flexon sits at the counter for dine-in service at
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Connecticut is slated to lift all remaining business restrictions next month, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) announced on Monday.

“Over the coming days, we’ll continue to slowly, cautiously, and safely phase out business restrictions,” the Democrat governor said on Monday, over a year since the Chinese coronavirus pandemic began:

According to his office, changes will begin to take place on May 1. Bars that do not serve food will be permitted to open on an “outdoor-only basis,” and the eight-person limit for tables will be lifted for outdoor service. Additionally, curfews for restaurants, theaters, and other entertainment facilities will be moved to midnight.

On May 19, however, officials will lift remaining business restrictions, although indoor masking will still be required.

“I think we’re going to mandate that you continue to wear the mask in school through the end of the school year,” Lamont said.

“It gives students, teachers, and parents some confidence. I’ll have a discussion with the legislature about that. And probably, we’re going to require indoor masking a little bit longer, until you’re vaccinated, in crowded public places. But that’s it,” he added.

“Contingent upon sufficiently low rates of infections and increasing vaccination rates, all remaining business restrictions will be lifted,” his office detailed.

“The Department of Public Health will issue recommendations for indoor and other large outdoor events, such as concerts, as well as clarify where masking will continue after May 19,” it added.

According to Lamont, Connecticut currently ranks second in vaccine administration per capita, with those 16 and older eligible to receive it. Over 2.7 million doses have been administered in the state, and 1.1 million people in the state have been “fully vaccinated,” per the governor:

Lamont’s announcement comes as data shows residents of blue states are fleeing to states such as Texas and Florida, both of which remain fully open. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced the reopening of the state last year, drawing criticism from the left and corporate media. However, he believes the mass migration, in many ways, is “self-selecting,” as those flocking to the red states are seeking freedom.

“So I do think the migration has been somewhat self-selecting in the sense of, these are people who, by and large, reject those narratives,” he told Breitbart News on Monday, explaining that the corporate media has long advanced an “anti-Florida” narrative.

“And so the people that are most likely to accept the narratives are going to be the ones that would more likely want to replicate blue state policies,” DeSantis said.

Florida, he continued, challenged the narrative and ignored the “talking heads on some of these cable places” and instead did “what the data was telling us to do.”

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