Dear Residents,
We continue to see a decline in COVID related hospitalizations across our state. Madison currently has 147 confirmed positive cases of the virus and 24 unfortunate fatalities; 68 of our confirmed cases are active (57 of these are associated with a skilled nursing facility). As the state ramps up its contact tracing and testing capacity, the Governor is encouraging residents to get tested if they have come in contact with someone who is positive, or showing symptoms. Starting tomorrow, the Madison Health Department will be posting a list of testing locations in the area and their requirements.
Last Friday, the Governor announced a loosening of directives regarding social gatherings. The new executive order permits social gatherings of up to 10 people indoors and up to 25 outdoors. Houses of worship can have up to 100 people during services or up to 25 percent capacity, whichever is less. Outdoor services can have up to 150 people. In addition, gyms can conduct outdoor training with up to 25 people and hair salons and barbershops are able to open up their doors to the public by appointment only. These loosened restrictions mandate that social distancing must be maintained and masks must be worn when social distancing cannot be adhered to. The second phase of the state re-opening plan starts June 20th; we are anticipating additional details on directives and business guidance on this phase by this weekend. If you are a local business with questions about any requirements, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the town by sending us an email at Reopenmadison@madisonct.org.
Starting this week, Madison’s Town Campus offices are open to the public by appointment only. Residents are still encouraged to conduct business on-line when possible or use available drop boxes outside the main entrance of Town Hall. I also want to continue to remind the public that beach parking stickers can now be purchased in-person at the Surf Club office seven days a week. Beach stickers will be required to park at all three beaches starting June 20th. The Beach & Recreation Department also recently launched on-line registration for its summer camps. More details on programming and registration are available at https://www.madisonct.org/recreation.
As a final comment, I want to address recent questions raised about the anticipated gathering this Sunday evening at the First Congregational Church. This is not a town authorized event, but is expected to be a peaceful, community-driven candlelight vigil for Madison residents to express their grief and solidarity with communities of color. This will not detract from how grateful we are for our police and first responders, who we all recognize work tirelessly with integrity and respect to keep us safe, but acknowledges the anger, pain, and frustration felt by many across our nation in this time of crisis. Please reach out to the First Congregational Church for more information.
Madison has courageously pulled together these last few months to get us through this evolving public health emergency. Let’s continue to tackle any new challenges we face together as one community. Please stay safe, healthy and at home Madison.
Peggy Lyons
First Selectwoman
