Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 7BB which goes into effect on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 8:00pm. The Order requires the following –
- Cloth face coverings or higher level of protection required in public wherever close contact is unavoidable
- Any person in a public place in Connecticut who is unable to or does not maintain a safe social distance of approximately six feet from every other person shall cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth face-covering.
The Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) will also be required to update the previously issued Safe Workplace rules and Safe Store rules.
The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall issue updated versions to the Safe Workplace rules and the Safe Stores rules issued pursuant to Executive Order 7S, Section 1, including requirements for face coverings.
Nothing in this order shall require the use of a mask or cloth face covering by anyone for whom doing so would be contrary to his or her health or safety because of a medical condition, anyone under the age of 2 years, or by an older child if the parent, guardian or person responsible for the child is unable to place the mask safely on the child’s face. If a person declines to wear a mask or face covering because of a medical condition as described above, such person shall not be required to produce medical documentation verifying the stated condition.
CEMA also reminds members about the occupancy, store layout, and managing customer flow requirements:
- Occupancy capped at 50% of store capacity. At entrance, staff will maintain a count of the number of customers entering and exiting stores.
- Clearly mark 6’ spacing in lines on floor at checkout lines and other high-traffic areas and, as much as practicable, provide ways to encourage 6’ spacing in lines outside the store.
- Post conspicuous signage and floor markings to direct customers and limit bottlenecks and/or encourage spacing and flow in high-density areas.
- Have aisles be one-way in stores where practicable to maximize spacing between customers. Identify the one-way aisles with conspicuous signage and/or floor markings.
- Maximize space between customers and employees at checkout lines, including, but not limited to, only using every other checkout line, where and when possible.
- Install Plexiglas shields to separate employees from customers at checkout lines and other areas in the store where practicable.