Workplace Order, Vaccine Plans Crafted

As the Covid-19 ​“dark winter” approaches, Mayor Justin Elicker issued an executive order Thursday requiring employers to craft and post ​“return to work” policies and inform the city about employees who test positive for the coronavirus.

The executive order takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m.

The city can revoke licenses or shut workplaces if employers violate it.

Read the order here.

“We realize there’s a lot of strain on businesses now. We want to make this as easy as possible,” Elicker, who has taken heat from the local Chamber of Commerce president for tightening pandemic restrictions, said at a Zoomed administration briefing Thursday afternoon, which also covered plans for administering Covid-19 vaccinations.

A second gubernatorial press conference held an hour later detailed initial plans for state distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, with a goal of fully vaccinating everyone who want it by early fall. (More on that later in this story.)

“In reality, it’s not a huge lift,” Elicker said of his executive order for businesses.

The order requires businesses that have in-person workers to:

• Craft, post, and inform workers in writing about ​“Return to Work” protocols for health screenings, mandatory leave for Covid-positive and symptomatic employees, mandatory social-distancing and hand-washing and mask-wearing.

• Abide by expanded federal family and medical leave and sick leave policies in the pandemic.

• Report any employee Covid-19 cases to the city health department within 24 hours and to isolate or quarantine the employees.

Elicker said most businesses are already taking responsible pandemic precautions, but some haven’t, which led to his issuing the order.

The city has issued 12 warnings to businesses in recent weeks for violating pandemic public-health orders, according to city Health Director Maritza Bond. Those led to three fines, two to A.F. Forbes at 401 Forbes Ave, one to Justin’s Deli on Grand Avenue. A list of business receiving official warnings appears later in this story (Click here and here to read coverage of warnings issued to Walmart on Route 80.)

City development chief Mike Piscitelli said he’s hosting a webinar at 1 p.m. Friday to ​“demystify” and ​“clarify” the rules for business owners.

Vaccination Plans

Bond also announced at the press briefing that the city has a plan ready to administer Covid-19 vaccines once the federal Food & Drug Administration approves them, which is expected to begin happening as early as this month.

The city will be following the lead of the state. Gov. Ned Lamont later on Thursday afternoon unveiled the beginning of that evolving statewide plan, at a virtual press conference. The three-part plan would start with a first phase in December and January focused on vaccinating hospital and nursing-home workers and first responders. The second phase (“Phase 1b”) would aim to cover other ​“critical workers,” adults over 65 years old, high-risk adults under 65, and people in group homes and prisons, beginning in mid-January through late May. The last phase (“Phase 2”) would aim to vaccinate the rest of the state in late spring.

Everyone in the state will be able to obtain the vaccine for free, whether or not they have insurance, the Lamont administration announced at the press conference.

The state will probably not have enough of the vaccine to cover all health care workers immediately, according to Trinity Health CEO Reginald Eadie, who co-chairs the governor’s Covid-19 Vaccine Advisory Group. Nurses and docs in hospital emergency and intensive-care units will probably get the first vaccinations, since they deal with Covid-19 patients, Eadie said.

Based on estimates of the amount of vaccine headed for the state, ​“we’re talking about weeks, not months” in terms of covering all the hospital workers, with all expected to be vaccinated by the end of January, added the advisory group’s other co-chair, acting state Public Health Commissioner Deidre Gifford. She also said the advisory group is hopeful that everyone in the state who wants to be vaccinated will be able to receive both recommended doses by early fall.

Under the city’s evolving plan, different entities will focus on vaccinating different populations. Yale New Haven Health, for instance, will focus on hospital employees. Private businesses that already administer flu shots, like Stop & Shop, will offer Covid-19 vaccines to the general public. The city Health Department will focus in its first phase on first responders like cops and firefighters.

It’s unclear whether residents of long-term care facilities, among the most vulnerable populations in town, will get the vaccine from agencies that already administer testing there. Bond said the state will make that call. She said the city will release the details of its plan once a vaccine is approved and the health department knows much of it will be made available.

The government will not mandate that people take the vaccine. The group working on the city’s vaccination plan also discussed how to combat misinformation and build trust in the community for people to agree to take it.

For instance, Elicker said he and other city officials will be vaccinated to set an example (as these three former U.S. presidents plan to do).

“We need to be the first in line to get the vaccine. We have to show that we’re willing to get the vaccine ourselves because we believe it’s safe,” he said.

He said his team will assess data on the vaccines so it can share facts about side effects and allay potential concerns.

The issue of allaying fears — especially in the minority community — arose at the governor’s press briefing as well.

State advisory group co-chair Eadie said pastors of congregations of color have invited him to meet with parishioners. He reported that in the first of those meetings so far, he has been able to allay fears about the speed of the approval process, among other concerns.

Asked when pre-pandemic life can resume, co-chair Gifford said that will depend on how many people choose to get vaccinated and how well it works. Which won’t be clear until mid-2021.

“Don’t get rid of your masks yet,” she said.

Businesses Warned On Violations

The city released the following list of businesses that have received warnings in recent weeks for violating pandemic public-health rules:

Aden Corner Store-248 Grand
C‑Town-325 Ferry
G‑Mini Mart-604 Ferry
Jax Grocery-1314 State
Johnny Salami’s‑205 Terminal Plaza
Lamberti Packaging Co-207 Food Terminal Plaza
Noodle House-132 Amity Road
Wah Chun Restaurant-218 Grand
Alma’s Deli-1464 Ella Grasso Blvd
Best Deli Food Store-339 Ella Grasso Blvd
Blake Street Convenience-295 Blake
Eddy’s Food Center-276 Howard
Frisco’s Pizza-345 Forbes Avenue
Henry’s Barbershop-225 Farren
Sing Wah-548 Whalley
West Rock One Stop Food Mart-122 Wilmot Road
Winchester Deli-265 Winchester Ave
New Haven Grocery and More-1312 State
A.F. Forbes-401 Forbes
Justin’s Deli Market-304 Grand