When news of this Pandemic came down in early March of 2020, new “guidelines” quickly came into place. It was determined that people must stay six feet apart; wear a mask; and sanitize. Since face masks weren’t commonplace immediately, many local crafters, designers, and volunteers answered the call and made masks from donated scraps of fabric. Also, many businesses had to adapt and adjust to these new guidelines. Dispensers of hand sanitizer immediately available on the counter near the register. Six feet markers on the floor to make sure everyone maintains their distance. Oh, and wear your mask. As soon as these procedures were in place, contactless delivery options were put into place.
Some folks were reluctant to follow these procedures while many more followed in lock-step compliance. Soon, these guidelines became law. Since it was determined that people couldn’t “Social Distance” on their own; some businesses were forced to close while a few were allowed to remain open. If your business was too small, you might not have enough space to properly social distance or have the funds to put the proper protection (such as plexiglass dividers) in place. You were forced to close until the Government declared is is safe to do so.
To fully social distance, we cannot forget “no large groups of people”. Immediately, it was determined that groups of 100. Wait, 50. Nope, 10 or less should not be together. This prompted the closure of many business that made its money by hosting large groups of people. Arenas, Theaters, Bars, Restaurants, and even the Casinos were forced to close. Yes, both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun! Places that prided themselves that they never closed their doors in their 25+ years of existence shut their doors for many months. For many of us, St. Patrick’s day was our “last hurrah” before many of these places closed.
Locally, I admired how local eatery Kamp Dog handled these guidelines. At first, Ken – the owner went on his strength of excellent takeout. After taking the table and chairs away from the main floor, the rules were - Call your order in; pay for your order and get out! You think, people would have the common sense to follow this. Unfortunately, people complained about his lack of “protective equipment” and the local health authority “Ledge Light” forced the plastic barrier in place.
Today, as of October 14, 2020; I am not sure how long many of these protective measures will remain in place. It seems when a policy is relaxed, the number of people infected spikes up and we go back a step. I have become a little more used to this “New Normal” and can’t wait for the day when many of these measures will no longer be in place.
Submitted Anonymously on Oct, 14, 2020