STAMFORD — Since March of last year, Stamford’s health department has conducted more than 1,700 inspections that involved checking whether various businesses and facilities were following COVID-19 safety guidelines and rules, according to data from the city’s Office of Public Safety, Health and Welfare.
Many of those inspections — about 930 — were routine health inspections that included a review of whether establishments were adhering to COVID-related protocols. Another 450 or so were evening and weekend inspections to ensure establishments were following rules like requiring masks and limiting capacity.
The rest of the inspections took place in spring 2020 when sit-down dining was prohibited and hair salons and barbershops were closed.
From March 2020 to April 2021, the health department issued 72 written warnings and 21 fines totaling $2,950, according to the city’s data, which The Stamford Advocate obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
An exterior view of Cafe Luna in Stamford, Conn., on Friday April 30, 2021. The Stamford Department of Health closed Luna in November 2020 for violations of COVID safety rules. It had not reopened as of April 30, 2021.
Christian Abraham /Hearst Connecticut Media
An exterior view of Reyes Bar & Restaurant in Stamford, Conn., on Friday April 30, 2021. The Stamford Department of Health closed Reyes in November 2020 for violations of COVID safety rules and cleared it to reopen on March 11, 2021.
Christian Abraham /Hearst Connecticut Media
An exterior view of the Peruvian Club in Stamford, Conn., on Friday April 30, 2021. The Stamford Department of Health closed the Peruvian Club in November 2020 for violations of COVID safety rules and cleared it to reopen on Feb. 19, 2021.
Christian Abraham /Hearst Connecticut MediaThe Stamford Department of Health, according to city records, also shut down three businesses in November for violations of COVID safety rules.
At the Peruvian Club on Atlantic Street, patrons playing pool and sitting around the establishment were not wearing masks, and patrons sitting at the bar area were drinking without food, according to city documents.
Cafe Luna on West Broad Street and Reyes Bar & Restaurant on Stillwater Avenue were closed by the city health department for “violating health and safety guidelines relating to overcrowding, wearing masks, and serving alcohol without food,” according to a press release from November.
The city Department of Health cleared Reyes to reopen on March 11, saying it was in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.
A re-inspection of the Peruvian Club on Feb. 12 noted that previous violations had been corrected. On Feb. 19, a health inspector wrote that the “owners have submitted a plan to indicate how they will meet the COVID requirement which has been reviewed and approved,” according to city documents.
Cafe Luna remains closed.
Efforts to reach managers at all three businesses were unsuccessful.
Local health departments can voluntarily report to the Connecticut Department of Public Health how they have been enforcing the state’s rules for reopening. The enforcement activities reported by local departments can range from warnings to fines to closures, DPH spokesperson Maura Fitzgerald said.
Stamford’s health department has reported more than 60 enforcement activities to the state — more than any other local health department, Fitzgerald said.
When it came to enforcing COVID safety protocols, the city’s goals were to reduce risk and educate local businesses, said Ted Jankowski, Stamford’s director of public safety, health and welfare.
“The goal was not really to penalize establishments who were struggling during COVID,” Jankowski said. “But if we had to close them down because they were not in compliance, then we had to close them down.”
Heather Cavanagh, the president and CEO of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce, agreed with Jankowski, adding that the chamber and the city collaborated to boost compliance.
“If a complaint got funneled to me, then we all (would) work together to try to resolve that complaint with regard to that business,” Cavanagh said. “Health and welfare and safety was the first priority, and if somebody is not complying with that, with the way that the virus would spread, it could cause a superspreader event. … We were all trying to break that curve, and if you’re not adhering to the guidelines, then we have to do something about that.”
Jankowski said that most of the time, businesses would make changes to bring themselves into compliance after receiving a verbal or written warning.
The city has conducted COVID inspections at restaurants, bars, delis, bakeries, supermarkets, convenience stores, flower shops, pharmacies, gyms, apartment buildings and salons, among other places, Jankowski said.
For the most part, inspections of restaurants were the responsibility of health department inspectors. Jankowski said the city’s civil citation officers inspected most of the other kinds of businesses.
Overall, Stamford’s citation officers performed more than 280 inspections that included checking for compliance with COVID rules. They issued eight written warnings but no fines.
Jankowski said that at times, a task force including a health inspector, a citation officer and a Stamford Police Department officer would respond to complaints about businesses flouting the rules.
Mayor David Martin said the city’s enforcement efforts “were always in service to the public’s health.”
“Many of our restaurants and businesses adapted quickly to the health and safety guidelines required by this pandemic,” Martin said in a statement. “We believe that after our initial serious enforcement actions, we saw greater compliance among businesses and residents compared to some other cities.”
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May 16, 2021 at 04:45AM
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How Stamford enforced COVID rules at local businesses: 1,700+ inspections, $2,900+ in fines. - The Advocate
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