Local family hosts large gathering

#Middlebury #COVID #Coronavirus

This tent was the site of a November 14 wedding reception town officials said had 80 guests. At that time, gatherings were limited to 10 people due to the pandemic. (Submitted photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

On November 6, with Connecticut’s COVID-19 case numbers rising, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont moved the state from Phase 3 to what he designated as Phase 2.1. Gatherings at private residences were capped at 10 people, whether the gathering was indoors or outdoors. On Saturday, November 14, a Middlebury family hosted a wedding reception for 80 guests in a heated, enclosed tent erected on their property.

This local action follows national news of an August rural Maine wedding reception for 55 guests attended by one asymptomatic person. By mid-September, 177 COVID-19 infections could be traced to the wedding reception. Seven of the infected people died, none of whom had attended the reception.

A factor in the Maine event, noted in a CDC report, was that attendees did not follow safe mask and social distancing guidelines. Local officials have told the newspaper that attendees at the Middlebury event did so, but this has not been confirmed by any guests or staff present at the event. A telephone call to the hosting family had not been returned by press time. Read the CDC report on the Maine wedding at tinyurl.com/y2y3eq9y.

The local reception came to our attention during Governor Ned Lamont’s press conference Monday, November 16. A reporter mentioned it and said he understood local officials took no action when they were informed about the gathering. He asked how COVID-19 guidelines are supposed to be enforced. State officials responded that local police departments and local health departments are expected to enforce the guidelines, breaking up such gatherings and arresting people if necessary.

That isn’t what happened in Middlebury. People called local officials only to be told all permits were in place and everything was OK. No action was taken. One person who called said in an email, “I wasn’t the only one who called and complained because the Middlebury Police and the State Police told me they were aware of the situation. The State Police in Southbury said I should call the Middlebury Police and the Middlebury Police asked me if I would like to file a complaint.”

Another person said, “I did call the local police and they told me they were fine, don’t worry about it.” They added that so many cars were lining the road by the event that the road was essentially a one-way road.

In response to hearing police told callers the event had all the proper permits, a third person said they didn’t know you could get permits to go over the limit of people.

First Selectman Edward B. St. John said Zoning Enforcement Officer Curtis Bosco assured him the wedding reception met all the necessary requirements. He said if the town gets complaints about COVID-19 guideline violations, they will send Bosco out to investigate. “We’ll address whatever needs to be done,” he said. “I expect a lot of compliance from our residents, and I don’t anticipate any issues.”

Torrington Area Health Department Director Robert Rubbo said the event was not under the jurisdiction of the health department. He said an executive order from the governor instructed each town to designate someone responsible for violations.

Rubbo said, “One thing I have learned through all this is it is transmitted person to person through droplets. That’s why gatherings like that (the wedding reception) are high risk.” He said the droplets remain suspended in the air.

We contacted Barbara Whitaker in the first selectman’s office for information on the designated official for Middlebury. She responded with two names, Bosco and Middlebury Police Chief Fran Dabbo.

Bosco was tied up out of town, so we called Dabbo. He said he learned of the reception Monday. He said everything was okay, the tent, heat and electrical permits all were in place and everything had been inspected. He said the tent could accommodate 400 people, but the event had 80 guests. He said Bosco had checked at 7 p.m. that day to be sure the tables were all properly spaced and guests and staff were wearing masks.

Asked about the 10 person limit, Dabbo said Governor Lamont should have made exceptions. “People already bought and paid for everything,” he said.

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) spokesperson, Jim Watson, said the governor had made exceptions. While the rule went into effect Friday, November 6, the governor allowed events that were planned for the weekend of November 7 and 8 to go on as planned, and the rule went into effect entirely on Monday, November 9.

When we talked to Bosco, he said he is doing his best to keep up with the changing COVID-19 guidelines. He noted he is not a health official and said enforcing the guidelines is something that has never before been a duty of a zoning enforcement officer. “We’re doing the best we can,” he said. “I’m a resident and I want everyone to be safe.”

He said he had inspected the site to be sure it conformed to social distancing guidelines and had returned Saturday evening to be sure everyone was wearing masks. He also said his understanding was since a commercial vendor pulled the permits for the event, the event would then fall under guidelines for a commercial event. On November 14, the gathering limit for an indoor commercial event was 25 people.

DECD spokesperson Watson, responding to whether this was a private or commercial event, said via email, “Our capacity limits are defined by location (commercial venue vs private residence). Given this was a private event at a private residence the capacity limit should have been 10.”

As to enforcement of the guidelines, Watson referred to Executive Order 9B, which authorizes a number of local officials, including health directors, municipal chief executive officers, and police officers to issue fines for gathering size violations.