No dine-in service at bars, restaurants in Connecticut and 3 neighboring states

Diners eat in a restaurant (Rod Long photo courtesy Unsplash.com)

HARTFORD, March 16, 2020 – To help fight the spread of the contagious COVID-19 coronavirus, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in announcing the closure of all restaurants and bars in the tri-state area starting tonight at 8 p.m. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced the closing of all bars and restaurants in Massachusetts through April 6 on Sunday night.

After 8 p.m., bars and restaurants in all three states will be allowed to offer takeout service, but there will be no eat-in service until a date that has yet to be determined. Bars that do not serve food will be required to temporarily close.

There are more than 8,500 eating and drinking establishments across Connecticut and they employ more than 160,000 people. Read more from our friends at CT News Junkie.

More news

Another 15 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Connecticut by Monday evening, bringing the total number up to 41. Most of those patients are in Fairfield County where there are 29 total positive cases. There are four cases each in Hartford, Litchfield, and New Haven Counties. More details from CT News Junkie.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s office announced late Monday evening that both federally recognized tribes will close their casinos in southeastern Connecticut by 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 17. The casinos, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, which haven’t closed since they opened in 1992 and 1996, respectively, will remain closed for two weeks. More details from CT News Junkie.

The White House and the CDC issued guidelines on Monday to slow the spread of COVID-19 across the United States.

Information and resources

Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC)

World Health Organization

Connecticut information

State of Connecticut COVID-19 updates (Twitter)

Latest news releases from Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont

Latest information, resources and guidance from state of Connecticut on coronavirus COVID-19