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Another state is moving to end capacity restrictions amid rapidly loosening COVID-19 restrictions. Connecticut will allow restaurants, bars, gyms, and several other stores return to normal beginning Friday, March 19th. One hundred percent capacity with no qualifications. It is not the first to do so, but it is perhaps more significant than moves put in place in much larger states like Florida and Texas. Connecticut has a Democratic governor and state legislature, and voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden in the most recent presidential election. It is the first northeastern state to lift most economic restrictions.
The move comes days after the Texas announcement. The Lone Star State was publicly shamed by Governor Gavin Newsom of California on Twitter.
President Joe Biden called the move “Neanderthal thinking.” To have a Democratic stronghold buck its most prominent national figures could potentially give cover for other states to follow suit in short order. For Michigan, where the legislature is Republican controlled with a Democratic governor, a sizable chunk of the state government is already pushing to chart a course that mirrors the moves being made in Connecticut.
Expect pressure on Lansing to allow a return to normal here at a time when Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s poll numbers are softening. A recent Epic-MRA poll shows her at 52 percent approval, down from last fall. Protests in Lansing to allow high school and youth sports, as well as a continuing pressure campaign for loosening restrictions on restaurants and bars have been well documented in recent months. Given that Bridgefest is already canceled, we are nearing a point where a U-turn in policy could come after the area has already lost a full summer slate of festivals and fun for a second straight year.
