Thomas Breen photo
Building Official Turcio on a Covid safety crew inspection.
If your employees don’t wear face masks to work or if you host a party with more people than allowed by the state’s reopening guidelines, then watch out: After one warning, it’ll cost you between $100 and $500.
That emerged Tuesday during a Covid-19 virtual press briefing.
Mayor Justin Elicker and city Health Director Maritza Bond announced at the briefing that the city will be rolling out this week a new set of Covid-19 related fines for businesses and individuals as the virus continues to surge across the region.
Zoom
Invoking the fining authority granted by Gov. Ned Lamont to municipalities in mid-September, Elicker (pictured) and Bond said that the city will fine businesses $100 each if their employees are caught not wearing face masks while on the job.
And the city will fine businesses and individuals $500 each if they’re caught hosting a social gathering or party that exceeds the capacity restrictions described by the state’s Covid-19 reopening guidelines.
Both of those fines will come only after a single warning and the city’s finding of a repeat offense.
“We will warn them once, and then we will fine them,” Elicker said.
The move towards financial penalties for Covid-related public safety violations represents the city’s latest efforts to crack down on businesses — and, now, private individuals — who do not heed state-mandated guidelines around mask wearing and capacity limitations.
The city’s Covid-19 safety crew, led by Building Official Jim Turcio and Bond, has been conducting random inspections of businesses for months to make sure they’re keeping their employees and customers safe during the ongoing pandemic. They’ve shut down businesses, like Anthony’s Ocean View, that have flouted the state’s Covid-19 guidelines and hosted mask-free holiday parties (Click on the video above to watch a recent Halloween party at Anthony’s).
Now the city is adding to those enforcement efforts and the threat of a temporary closure the additional heat of a financial penalty.
Here’s how the new fining protocol will work, according to Bond (pictured).
If the city is conducting an inspection, whether routine or random as part of the city’s Covid safety task force, and if a city staffer notices employees working and not adhering to the state’s mask rules, that business will be immediately issued a warning letter.
“If we do a follow up and see they’re still not complying, we will issue an infraction notice, and they will be instructed to pay a fine,” she said.
Elicker said that the city will issue the $100 fine only to businesses, and not to individual employees, when workers are caught not wearing masks while on the clock.
The city will, however, issue $500 fines to businesses and private individuals alike if they’re caught hosting social gatherings in excess of the state’s current Covid-19 phased reopening guidelines.
Click here for a detailed breakdown of the current size limits for the state’s Phase 2.1 reopening guidelines, which limit private, social and recreational gatherings at commercial venues to 25 people indoors or 50 people outdoors. Those same guidelines limit private gatherings at private residences to 10 people indoors or 10 people outdoors.
Thomas Breen photo
Deputy Fire Marshall Jennifer Forslund at an inspection.
“It’s an impossible situation for our businesses,” Elicker acknowledged as he repeated his call on the state to allow cities like New Haven to roll back to Phase 1 reopening guidelines, which would prohibit indoor dining at restaurants altogether, among other restrictions.
“Ultimately, what the federal government should be doing is paying businesses to close, like what we’re seeing in Europe, so that businesses are not forced to go out of business or to violate guidance as they’re trying to survive.” Nevertheless, he said, Covid cases are on the rise, and businesses and individuals alike need to “opt into doing the right thing.”
Bond said that a total of 351 new local Covid-positive cases were reported in the last 14 days, bringing the city’s total number of positive cases since the start of the pandemic to 4,177.
Chamber Prez Fires Back
Elicker’s rollback call elicited a smackdown from Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce President Garrett Sheehan.
“As we all work to stop the spread of the virus, I’m concerned that the focus is being put on business activity. We had an entire summer of businesses reopening, including indoor dining, where we did not see case counts rise. Our businesses have led the way in being safe. They follow the protocols. They have invested in making their businesses safe for employees and customers. They are doing the right things even when it costs them money. Now is when they need support. They should not be constantly living under threats from elected officials of more shutdowns,” Sheehan stated.
Asked about Tuesday’s announcement about fines, Sheehan was less irate. He said he’s OK with that plan “as long as the city works with businesses. The overwhelming majority of our businesses are doing the right things. They’re requiring masks and following the dinner party rules so it should be a non-issue. “
Food Kit Pickups Available To Order
Also during Tuesday’s virtual presser, city Food Systems Policy Director Latha Swamy gave an update on food delivery and pickup services available in the coming weeks and months.
She said that the public school system, which remains closed to in-person learning indefinitely, still distributes free breakfasts and lunches Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 38 different school sites.
During the winter holiday break, from Dec. 21 to Dec. 23 and from Dec. 28 to Dec. 31, those 38 food pickup sites will be temporarily reduced to 11. When families go to pick up meals during that shortened schedule, they’ll be able to pick up double meals.
Families can also call ahead of time to pick up a meal kit with a mix of fresh and frozen ingredients designed to last a full week. New Haven Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Michael Pinto said that those food kits will include such ingredients as frozen hamburger, frozen chicken patties, frozen BBQ ribs, and frozen vegetables like a mix of corn, carrots, and green beans, as well as fresh tomatoes, fresh spinach, and fresh potatoes.
The number to call to put in a food kit pickup order is 475 – 220-1612. The pickup sites are High School in the Community, King Robinson, and Hill Regional Career, and the pick up days are Nov. 20, Dec. 4, Dec. 11, and Dec. 18.
Click here , and see below, for more information about city food resources.
