Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling issued three critical emergency orders Sunday amid the coronavirus outbreak.

He said vehicular traffic at all Norwalk parks and beaches will be restricted. The order does not affect Norwalk employees who require access.

Rilling said that the maximum occupancy numbers inside all Norwalk businesses will be reduced to 50% of the fire marshal's previously established maximum occupancy numbers for each business.

He also said that Norwalk families are to limit themselves to only one family member at the same time per visit to a Norwalk store, and exemptions will be made for single parents, caregivers and other situations where it is not feasible to leave a person home.

"I understand that families, especially those with young children, are experiencing cabin fever staying at home. However, taking the entire family out to a store to get out of the house during the COVID-19 outbreak is unnecessarily dangerous to both your family and everyone else in the store,” he said. 

Mayor Rilling issued the orders under the powers of a Civil Preparedness Declaration he signed on March 14. These orders follow Saturday’s suspension of the Carry-Out Bag Ordinance. Retail stores are now permitted to stock single-use plastic bags for customers and cannot charge 10 cents for paper bags. This ordinance has been suspended until further notice.

The orders become effective at 8 p.m. March 30, and will remain in place until further notice.

"I've asked nicely and implored the public to practice physical distancing and to treat this public health crisis seriously. Unfortunately, many in our community are taking this too lightly," said Rilling. "In the last 24 hours, we've had a 60% increase in cases and we now have over 200 positive cases. Extreme measures are necessary," Mayor Rilling said. "These are drastic measures, but it is the only way we can slow this pandemic. Our health care system is going to be overloaded and that means more people getting sick and more people dying – not just from coronavirus, but from heart attacks, strokes, and other serious medical issues that require attention."

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