Amid recent government guidance that gives hope an end to the pandemic may be in sight, residents and business owners are trying to figure out what the "new normal" looks like.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ned Lamont lifted the state's mask mandate for people who are fully vaccinated. The decision followed a declaration from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people who are fully vaccinated no longer need to socially distance or wear masks indoors or outdoors, with some conditions.

But how that plays out on the streets of southeastern Connecticut is still a source of uncertainty for some people on the sidewalks and in the shops.

Along Niantic's Main Street and over on West Main, it seemed most of the business owners were having conversations with their employees about who should be wearing masks and how to enforce it. There were fewer people wearing masks on the streets of downtown Mystic on Thursday than at points earlier in the pandemic, but many still kept their masks at the ready: in their hands, on their wrists, below their chins.

Lamont this past week said 72% of adults in the state have at least their first shot, which he cited as the basis for ending business restrictions. But there's still no vaccine approved for children under 12 years old.

"Outdoor masking is no longer required for anybody vaccinated or unvaccinated, unless you're in a very tight area at particularly large events where I'd still recommend it, especially to those who are unvaccinated," Lamont said. "That's our guidance. Indoor masking will still be required for the unvaccinated for a little bit longer."

In lifting restrictions, he said private businesses will decide whether people have to show proof of vaccination, and maintained his position that the state would not get involved in the issue. "Every store, business, restaurant, they have their own rules," he said. "At this point, I think people are going to self-attest. I hope we can count on them to do the right thing."

East Lyme

In the Book Barn's eclectic mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, those who are fully vaccinated don't need to "mask up," but those who aren't must wear them indoors and out. That means enforcing masks for the obviously unvaccinated 3- to 12-year-old set.

At the open-air front desk of the used book seller's main Niantic location, owner Randi White flagged down one of several employees as he pointed to a couple with young children who had just entered the sprawling outdoor maze of shelves, outbuildings, garden statues and real-life animals.

"Anybody between (age) 3 and 12 has to wear a mask," he reminded the employee. "They cannot be vaccinated, so they have to wear a mask at this time."

The rest of the customers are subject to the honor system when it comes to shucking their masks, White said. "We're asking people to be honest. And that's the only thing we can do."

Inside the Old Red Saltbox boutique on Main Street in Niantic, owner Deb Roush and employee Jenni Hill were still mulling over how to approach the latest guidance from the state.

"We're not sure what to do," Roush said.

She described local business owners as being stuck "between a rock and a hard place" as they weigh the risk of upsetting customers by requiring masks against the merits of keeping employees and customers as safe as possible.

Hill said a majority of the people who have come through the doors since restrictions were lifted have asked if they need to wear a mask. "I say it's up to them," she told The Day. "I mean, it's the honor system."

Roush shrugged at the imperfect solution. "I think that's what we're going to do. If you've been vaccinated, you're welcome to come in. If you haven't, please put your mask on. I don't know what else to do, really," she said. "You just hope that everyone's honest."

Tara Wyatt, owner of Tumbleweeds music shop and boutique up the street, placed a sign on the front lawn to let customers know masks are required until further notice — "unvaccinated or not."

She said that policy has angered some, while comforting others.

One customer drove an hour and a half with her 91-year-old mother to browse records, tie-dyed items, tapestries, incense, oils and jewelry because she felt safe in the shop, according to Wyatt. The woman told her it was one of the first times she'd brought her mother out in 14 months, and she was able to bring her in because Wyatt has a mask mandate.

Vaccines haven't allayed the shop owner's fears about COVID-19, especially with more contagious variants showing up around the globe.

"We have so much foot traffic in here from every part of the world. We are seeing people from every state, we are seeing people now coming in from out of the country," she said.

Mystic

As Aurora Ekstein and Nikki Martinez Chavez walked down the sidewalk toward Sift Bake Shop in Mystic on Thursday afternoon, they wondered whether they would wear their masks inside. But they saw people coming out with masks on, so they opted to put them on.

"I think we both have kind of decided that we're just going to take it each business by business, and if people are not wearing them and seem comfortable, we won't wear them either, but if more folks seem to have them on, we just want to be respectful," Martinez Chavez said.

She and Ekstein, both emergency department technicians, came down from their homes in Windham and Vernon for a beach day Thursday, the day after Connecticut lifted remaining COVID-19 restrictions.

"I feel a little odd walking into places that have everything lifted, because it's been so long," Ekstein said.

Many businesses in downtown Mystic are still requiring masks for all customers, though some have updated their signs in light of the new CDC guidance. The sign in the window of Rochelle's reads, "If unvaccinated you are required to wear a mask inside," though employees are wearing masks regardless.

In the window of Ivory Ella is a sign that says, "Masks are still required for all customers and staff within our store until further notice."

Stephanie Marshall, owner of Hang the Moon, personally feels it "might be a little early to lift the mask mandate." She is still requiring all customers to wear masks, and to use hand sanitizer when they walk in. She said she'll reevaluate those policies in a month or so.

"I think it's going to be crazy busy this summer," she said.

The new CDC guidance puts some businesses in a tough spot, considering they don't know who is or isn't vaccinated and would be depending on an honor system if they let unvaccinated folks go maskless.

Bank Square Books manager Douglas Riggs said the change caught employees off guard, and the store is still strongly encouraging people to wear a mask.

"I know all the other businesses are doing their best, and I'm sure the situation is going to be evolving and changing rapidly over the coming weeks and months, so we're all in it for the ride," Riggs said.

He doesn't know if he really believes in the term "new normal."

"I think that that's like a snappy saying that people kind of throw around," Riggs said, "but there were plenty of challenges before COVID, especially for brick-and-mortar stores, and there's going to be plenty of challenges afterwards."

Sitting outside Bank Square Books, Freya Sponseller said this was her first vacation. She came from Pennsylvania with her daughter from Florida, and their stop in Mystic was on the way back from Martha's Vineyard. They're happy about the loosened mask guidance.

There's a sort of irony in the timing of the masses becoming fully vaccinated: As it's getting safer to be indoors, it's more desirable to be outside. Sunny and 63 degrees on Thursday, it was the kind of day that lends itself to people eating outside and businesses leaving their doors open — pandemic or not.

Norwich

In Norwich, the easing of COVID-19 restrictions was greeted with mixed feelings of liberation, hesitation and caution.

Carly St. Martin, general manager of These Guys Brewing at 78 Franklin St., said she did a double-take when she walked into the restaurant Wednesday and saw all the tables and bar stools back in the pre-COVID spaces.

By evening, patrons sat shoulder to shoulder at the bar, with only the three stools at the front window vacant. Those had been the only ones available during the pandemic, bar manager Jon Flatley said, for one party properly distanced from the nearest restaurant table.

These Guys staff will wear masks for now, St. Martin said, to make patrons feel comfortable. Outdoor live music has resumed.

"It feels like we have a level of normalcy," customer Patty Geis of Colchester said, sitting at the bar enjoying a ribeye dinner waiting for Trivia Night to start. She said work on Wednesday felt strange.

"For the first three to four hours, it felt like I was doing something wrong," she said of not wearing a mask. "By the end of the day, it was a little bit more normal."

"I feel liberated," These Guys customer Bill McCluskey of Norwich said. But he still wore his mask earlier Wednesday in public. He, his wife, Heather and friends James Hopkins and Christopher White, all of Norwich, have been coming to These Guys throughout the pandemic to support the local business. They wanted to come on the first night of full reopening.

"It most definitely feels good," White said. "Getting out in the community."

Outside, the band FrankenPhil played to diners at several picnic tables and smaller square tables in the patio area constructed when the pandemic hit. St. Martin said she had FrankenPhil booked last year but had to cancel, so she made sure to call the band back.

"I'm happy to be back at it," singer and guitarist Frank Wilson said. "I'm hoping to make up for lost times."

While Phil Newland is retired, Wilson said the band's usual 100-plus gigs per year is "income." Like many performers, he had difficulty with the gig worker unemployment filing. Wilson was grateful that St. Martin called the band as soon as These Guys started outdoor concerts again.

FrankenPhil, which features covers of jazz, blues and rock mixed with original songs, normally plays three bookings a week in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The band is happy the phone is ringing again with numerous requests. Its members admitted they need practice.

"We're out of gig shape," Newland said.

The phone rang constantly Wednesday morning at Hair Do's salon in Taftville, owner Joanne Glidden said, as customers felt comfortable to come out. Staff members are vaccinated — Glidden volunteered at vaccine clinics by next-door Nutmeg Pharmacy — but if an unvaccinated customer enters, they will don masks.

"I am loving it!" Glidden said. "We have been so busy this morning. People are coming back out. ... For the first time in a year and a half, I feel like there's hope. I'm loving it. My customers are loving it."

Public events also are ramping up. Norwich will host a Memorial Day parade at noon on May 31. The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce will hold two summer concerts at Dodd Stadium before moving the popular Rock the Docks series back to the Howard T. Brown Memorial Park at Norwich Harbor, with no social distancing requirements.

New London

Maureen Ricci was in New London for a doctor’s appointment with her husband, a reusable mask decorated with a flower pattern attached to clips slung around her neck. Her husband’s mask remained on as they walked down Bank Street looking for a restaurant with a patio to eat lunch.

Ricci said she and her husband are vaccinated against the coronavirus but even before the shots, she did not wear her mask outside unless she was in close contact with others. She’s refrained from most indoor gatherings except for family.

“Nothing’s normal these days,” she said. “I’m ready for this nonsense to be done with.”

As for the state lifting pandemic restrictions, Ricci expects not much will change in the near term. “People are scared and I guess rightfully so ... but this has to end at some point.”

Her biggest annoyance has been fogged glasses and difficulty holding a conversation through the masks, a small price she said to prevent contracting a virus that has killed so many.

Madeleine Douer, an employee at Saeed’s International Market at 464 Ocean Ave., said as a service worker and being community minded, she thinks it is only appropriate to keep a mask on as a sign of solidarity for people who still might be susceptible to the coronavirus regardless of whether or not they’re vaccinated.

The popular market and eatery stopped indoor dining early in the pandemic and will continue to require masks inside the store. There are a few tables set up outside for the convenience of customers.

“I think it’s too difficult to regulate mask-wearing or non-mask-wearing, to know whether someone is lying to you about being vaccinated,” Douer said. “It was hard enough, at least initially, to get people to wear masks and now I think people are going to push back even further. I had a person come in a couple of weeks ago and told me I was restricting his freedoms for making him wear his mask.”

The shop also requires shoes and shirts, she said, as a matter of health and safety for other customers.

“It’s not about me. I’m not worried about myself, I’m worried about the people that come in her and might be susceptible,” she said.

As to whether a return to normalcy is in sight, Douer said the state is in a good position but unknowns remain.

Ellen Cummings, owner of Flavours of Life, a fair trade store on Bank Street, said once the state lifted mask restrictions, she took the sign off her door that said that masks were required.

“But everybody that has come into the shop is still masked,” she said. “I made the decision that if they wore a mask, I would wear a mask. People are reluctant right now to make the change.”

She and all of her employees are fully vaccinated.

“The store is busier. More people are coming out. That’s a good sign,” she said. “I’m very optimistic for the summer. From what I’ve been hearing on the street, it’s pretty much the same around town. Everybody feels a positivity and there is an upbeat attitude downtown.”

Joshua Santiago, owner of Mi Familia Restaurant, was busy filling orders Friday, dishing out heaping mounds of rice and chicken for one customer. Several families gathered on the outside tables, some masked and some not.

Santiago said he is still requiring masks for people coming into the tight quarters of his 111 Montauk Ave., buffet-style eatery. He said he’ll stick to what makes people feel comfortable and suspects many people have become used to wearing masks.

He said he’s lucky "we managed to pull through" the pandemic, while some restaurants have not survived.

Santiago said he’s noticed an increase in business lately, perhaps attributable to more people venturing out. He tends to think, however, that it’s the quality of the Puerto Rican cuisine that has brought more people in, a bit of a "taste of home." Business is doing so well, in fact, he said he is exploring the idea of an expansion into a larger space.

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