Coronavirus complaints anticipated to rise throughout tourism season

Complaints to authorities about companies violating Maine coronavirus rules have been minor across the state since February, but that may be the calm before the storm in the tourism season.

Officials said it is easier to see people who are not wearing masks or who are clumped too tightly when they are outside, and more summer visitors mean more crowded areas. May 24th, Governor Janet Mills increases the occupancy limits indoors and outdoors in restaurants and other businesses. Maine maintains social distancing and masks mandates as neighboring New Hampshire loosens them, starting with a lifting of the state mask mandate on April 16.

Complaints and violations increased during the tourist season last year after the governor relaxed quarantine restrictions on visitors last July. After ascending through the end of last year, they fell to less than 12 a day this February, said Lisa Silva, manager of the state health inspection program. This was also the case in the larger cities like Portland, where state regulations were enforced. However, complaints have been received recently and more visitors are likely to join, according to compliance officers.

“It is more visual seeing 20 people sitting in an outdoor dining area than going to a restaurant or store to see if there are any violations,” said Jessica Hanscombe, Portland’s manager of licensing and residential safety. “As the weather warms up and occupancy rises despite social distancing, we will likely see more complaints.”

In March, the governor announced that visitors from New England could come to Maine immediately without quarantine or testing, as could those from other states who recently had COVID-19 or were fully vaccinated Immediate bump in lodging reservations.

The expected increase in complaints this summer could surpass that of last year’s pandemic-restricted tourism season. Portland had between 10 and 15 complaints a day from the pandemic. Jeff Wallace, Bangor’s director of code enforcement, said he had received seven or eight complaints a week through February, and now it’s only got one or two a week, but he also anticipates an increase as it gets warmer.

David Hediger, director of Lewiston’s planning and code enforcement office, said his office had received no complaints a few months ago, about three a week for the past few weeks. He said more people followed the rules than the pandemic lasted.

“Wearing masks has become the new norm,” he said.

Complaints usually concern restaurants and are forwarded from there to Hediger’s office the state’s tip website. The tips are generally anonymous and include the company’s name, location, and incident, e.g. B. “At 11 am on Saturday, the cashier was seen not wearing a mask,” he said. Lewiston’s approach is to educate, rather than punish, those charged with violations. No company has suspended its license there.

Cities and towns across Maine put the State Coronavirus Prevention Checklists different. Complaints can be submitted through the Restaurant and Accommodation Tips website, as well as through the website Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry for markets and farms. You can also contact the local police or code enforcement departments directly. Portland also has a betting line.

As soon as a complaint is received, the local authorities usually visit the company. If an officer detects a violation, the complaint goes to a state inspector and can be made for an “imminent health hazard” report. This means the company poses a threat to the spread of COVID-19 and must act immediately to correct the violation.

If it is observed that a company continues to evade mandates, the relevant state authority can temporarily suspend its license. State inspectors visit non-compliant businesses across the state with the exception of Portland, South Portland, Lewiston, and Auburn, whose inspectors are acting on behalf of the state.

From April 1, 2020 to March 9 of this year, the Maine Health Inspection Program, part of the Department of Economic and Community Development, received 4,100 complaints, of which 93 were observed by inspectors issuing imminent health hazard reports . Of these, 23 companies had temporarily suspended their license. Almost all of them were reinstated. The inspection program monitors restaurants and accommodations.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, which oversees the markets, issued 1,785 notices informing business owners of reported violations, 13 formal warning letters and a temporary suspension of the business license. Most companies have made measurable changes, said division spokesman Jim Britt.

Some restaurants had more than one violation. Sunday River Brewing Co. Bethel, whose owner Rick Savage broke government regulations by opening up to customers when it was banned from eating indoors, was the biggest with four pending health threats reports and five temporary suspensions from the health inspection program.

Rick Savage, the owner of Sunday River Brewing Co., speaks to reporters outside his restaurant on May 1, 2020. Dozens of people lined up outside after appearing on Fox News the previous day to say he would open up to customers at the restaurant in violation of a state order. Photo credit: Charles Eichacker / BDN

This year, the state issued 15 upcoming health threats and four license freezes, including Pat’s pizza in the old port of Portland and the Mexican restaurant Cancun in Waterville. Hanscombe said this was the only license suspended in Portland during the pandemic as the city seeks to partner with businesses. Businesses in general have adhered well, she said.

Cancun owner Hector Guentes declined to comment on the situation but said his restaurant would reopen this week. The temporary suspension notice, which ends at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, states multiple times that Waterville police observed uncovered employees, patrons and security guards removing bar stools and dining tables in violation of state mandates and patrons wandering and dancing.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said that while Cancun police have repeatedly observed complaints and violations, officers are generally trying to get voluntary compliance. The department receives three or four complaints a month and it can be difficult to determine their validity.

“Sometimes it’s someone who complains more than once about the same business because they’re angry,” he said.

Some companies initially felt that they were singled out. Richard Clark, co-owner of Benjamin’s Pub in Bangor, reopened its downtown Bangor restaurant in March after it closed last November due to the surge in coronavirus cases. He complained in November that he had received visits from Wallace and a phone call from a state inspector. Although no violations were found, he said the inspectors were “Get down on us pretty hard. “

Things have changed since it reopened and customers like to wear masks. It also keeps the capacity of your choice at around 50 percent.

“It feels like things are weakening after being tense last fall and people are prudent and compliant,” said Clark.

Hanscombe in Portland said gray areas in mandates can be frustrating and one inspector may see things differently than another. State leadership has continued to develop. The restaurant owners were initially confused about what it meant to have tables 6 feet apart. It’s the back of an occupied chair on one table and the back of an occupied chair on another, so some restaurants allow 7 feet or more, she said.

Another problem is how the complaints are filed. Hanscombe said Portland often sees “drive-by” complaints from people sitting at red lights, looking into a restaurant, thinking the tables are too close.

She said it could be difficult for code enforcement officers to visit a company where they don’t see a violation most of the time but still need to talk to the owner about compliance.

“I don’t want anyone to ever think this is our dream job, do COVID-19 enforcement,” said Hanscombe. “We just have to enforce what is available.”