After soaring in January, new cases of COVID-19 have been declining for weeks, fueling hopes of a return to normalcy.

Since the end of February, mask mandates have been falling, too.

On Thursday, the statewide daily COVID-19 positivity rate dropped below 2%. Only 155 people were hospitalized in Connecticut, 16 of them in New London County. Ledge Light Health District reported that in the nine municipalities it covers, 123 new cases of the coronavirus disease had been detected in the week ending March 5, the fewest in any week since July.

Health officials say COVID-19 likely will transition from a pandemic to an endemic disease, meaning one that occurs seasonally, like the flu, its spread and rate of infection predictable.

With that in mind, The Day’s reporters asked people, including some they'd spoken to earlier, about how they're approaching life now.

On the road again

For the more than four decades they’ve been together, Janet Peck and Carol Conklin have been adventurous — driving across the country a handful of times and visiting national parks. In 2020, they planned go on what Peck said has been at the top of Conklin’s bucket list "forever": a road trip to Alaska.

But then the pandemic roared across the map, closing the Canadian border and slamming the brakes on their plans.

Peck, 71, is a full-time caregiver for 69-year-old Conklin, who has Alzheimer’s disease. From their Colchester home during quarantine in 2020, Conklin described the disease as “slowly losing pieces of yourself.” Peck said she was watching bits of her wife’s memory and mind fade away.

The pandemic isolation made things even harder — activities and groups shut down, disrupting Conklin’s routine and making it more difficult for her to keep track of time and remember. In the darkness they found a light, joining a virtual choir for people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. For a few hours a week, they didn’t think about either disease disrupting their lives, they just sang.

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But their road trip has always been the bright light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.

“COVID is at a dull roar now, so we’re hoping to go this year,” Peck said, then added, “We’re not hoping, we’re going. I’m determined.” They aren’t letting anything, not even the economy, get in the way. “Of course the gas prices aren’t helping," she said, "but we aren’t even going to think about it.”

In June, they plan to pack up their camper van and start the more than three day drive to Alaska, which they plan to spend weeks exploring. “Being out in the wilderness and seeing all the wildlife, hopefully taking a helicopter ride, doing some boat trips,” Peck said. “Hopefully giving her the vacation of her life, that’s my hope.”

— Taylor Hartz

Her long haul’s over

Julie Sanders of Noank got COVID-19 two years ago at the start of the pandemic. Nearly a year later, in February 2021, she still was experiencing symptoms and wondered if she’d ever be completely free of all of them. She qualified as a “long-hauler.”

“I’m so much better now,” Sanders said last week. “I’ve got the list of doctors I’m seeing down to a minimum — just the heart doctors.”

She’s recovered from what may have been her last COVID-related difficulty, a pulmonary embolism she suffered in the spring. Doctors were able to treat the clot in a lung artery with blood thinners. “Since then, I’ve been doing great,” she said.

After two years as a “couch surfer,” Sanders said she’s been fully active over the past month, ready to resume working and exercising and to start sailing again.

“I’m back to the person I was,” she said. “But I know many long-haulers are still struggling. I’m one of the small percentage who have gotten through it without permanent damage.”

Sanders, fully vaccinated and boosted, said she doesn’t wear a mask most of the time but has no problem putting one on in a medical setting, including at a pharmacy counter, or in line at a crowded grocery store.

“It’s not about me," she said, "it’s about protecting others who are in close contact with people all day long.”

— Brian Hallenbeck

Teacher, students returning to 'normal'

Mark Higgins, a teacher at Clark Lane Middle School in Waterford, admits the first "maskless Monday" after restrictions were lifted at school felt strange. He said it was the first time he'd seen some of his students' faces.

Higgins said he had mixed emotions when the governor announced that the school mask mandate was not going to be extended. He said he was concerned about how the significant change in routine would affect students' physical and emotional health. But he said the change in policy has not caused any disruptions and has helped create a greater sense of normalcy at the school.

"Some of my students continue to wear masks and others do not," Higgins said. "The students seem to respect each other's individual choices."

And although he wrestled with his own decision, Higgins said he decided to drop wearing a mask, feeling more comfortable as positive COVID-19 cases have dropped in the county.

He also has been getting out and socializing more. "In the last two months," he said, "I have been able to spend time with friends who I haven't seen outside of Zoom or FaceTime."

— Johana Vazquez

Masks are off and the kids are 'free' says one parent 

When New London schools reopened to students in a hybrid model — part remote and part in-school instruction — in September 2020, Olga Vokolou sent her two kids to Harbor School with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

COVID-19 was still ubiquitous in the community and despite her children’s desire to get back into classes and mingle with friends, Volkolou was terrified of putting so much faith in others to protect her children.

Fast forward to today and Vokolou is anxious for a return to something akin to normal. When masks became optional in the district last month, she said the first day was like setting her 6- and 9-year-old free.

“After so long, it was wonderful to see the kids’ smiles,” she said. “They’re happy. They’re free.”

Children are resilient, Vokolou said, and she’s hoping that “in their minds it’s forgotten.”

— Greg Smith

Waitress serving up cautious optimism

Jaime Mallett still has a mask on — though it isn't always pulled up to cover her mouth and nose anymore.

That's a new situation for the popular waitress at Mr. G's in New London. "If a customer looks uneasy or I think I might cough or something, I pull my mask up immediately," she said. "This is as comfortable as I've felt in two years, but I'm still careful."

While Mr. G's stayed open as much as possible during the worst of the pandemic, relying on customer takeout orders, Mallett worked the entire time and said she tried to use the most efficient masks available. During a busy lunch shift Thursday, she said, "The truth is, I'm really paranoid. Plus, I have two kids who were only recently able to get vaccinated." She laughed. "Plus, I work in a restaurant. So, I've been pretty strict about being masked."

Only recently has Mallett started to get out a bit more in social situations. "I'm finally going out with my friends on Tuesday nights, and my husband and I will take the kids to a movie or the Dinosaur Place. It feels pretty great to do so, but I'll have the mask back on in a minute if it gets bad again."

— Rick Koster

Restaurant owner repeatedly adjusted business model

Paul's Pasta Shop was closed for indoor dining from mid-March 2020 until late June of that year, when it reopened for about two weeks but then returned to takeout only due to lack of seating and poor customer behavior. It reopened for indoor dining last May, went to takeout only again for two weeks in December due to the surge in cases from the omicron variant, and has since been open for indoor dining.

Whew.

"You balance all the different things out," said owner Paul Fidrych, who said he made these decisions by listening to the staff and to customers. "We were fortunate because we've always had a good takeout business and a really loyal customer base, and that kept us going."

Fidrych said about half of his staff are now choosing to wear masks, and about half the meals are takeout. But he said the place is full on a Saturday night, though business overall isn't as great as it used to be.

He noted there are other pressures aside from COVID-19: gas prices and inflation.

— Erica Moser

Barber ready to hit the road

Mark Strafaci, longtime owner of New London's Townline Barbershop, has strictly followed mask mandates throughout the pandemic.

"But I absolutely feel like things are loosening up," he said. "We wore masks when we were told to by the state, and we dropped them when we were allowed to by the state. We were closed 10 weeks in 2020 under state mandate; otherwise, we've been open."

Strafaci added he is taking advantage of the relaxed rulings. "It looks like we're coming out of this, so we'll definitely be doing more and traveling more. Once they allow us out, we're going to be out."

— Rick Koster

Seniors feeling left behind

Patricia Taptick, 84, started using the bus services provided by the Montville Senior Center more frequently after the death of her husband four months ago. She said she enjoys the bus, seeing her "bus crowd" friends and socializing with them at the senior center.

One of her bus friends, Mary Kripps, 66, said wearing a mask didn't bother her in the beginning of the pandemic, when everyone wore them. But as restrictions loosened elsewhere, she said everyone forgot about seniors — with the mask restriction being only recently lifted and the lunch program restarting just a few weeks ago.

Kripps said she became fed up with masks months ago, unable to leave home without one. Now, she still carries a mask just in case she needs one at a place that requires them. "I'm happier now that I have the option," she said.

Social Services Director Kathleen Doherty said the center's programs having been running again since last June and the lunch room was opened two weeks ago. She said the center has slowly been returning to normal and is hosting a St. Patrick's Day dinner on Thursday, March 17.

— Johana Vazquez

Nursing homes still a long way from 'normal'

Long-term care facilities are a setting where everyone still has to wear a mask in common areas.

With masking still in effect but more activities resuming, "I'm wondering if right now we're kind of in our new normal," said Jeanette Sullivan-Martinez, a resident of Pendleton Health and Rehabilitation Center in Mystic.

"Because of people's illnesses in the nursing facility, that might be one of the last places that doesn't change," she added.

Sullivan-Martinez said Pendleton is encouraging communal dining, has had some small group activities, and just started allowing outside entertainment back in, such as people playing the piano or guitar.

But she said large church groups still aren't allowed in, nor are children under the age of 5. Sullivan-Martinez said her two young granddaughters have visited outside but have never been in the building.

Sullivan-Martinez, who hasn't caught COVID-19, said she has seen entertainment once or twice and gone to resident council meetings but doesn't roam around the building or visit with people in the lobby like she used to.

— Erica Moser

Keeping up pandemic connections

When many people were unexpectedly forced to work from home in 2020, Robin Kelleher used her experience to offer advice about pivoting to a home office. The president and CEO of Hope for the Warriors, she has been managing the nonprofit — it helps service members wounded in combat, their families and families of those killed in action — from her home on Mason’s Island in Mystic for more than 16 years.

“We had a lot of corporate leaders reaching out to us about how to retain staff and we told them that showing that staff’s well-being and their family’s well-being is a priority in your company is a great way to maintain your team,” she said.

The nonprofit, which has employees across the country, also took its own advice. “We had to dig really deep to care for our staff in a way we don’t typically do,” Kelleher said. The organization had to reduce staff and salaries, but also had to quell the fears of staff members and assure them of their job security, which she said wasn't easy.

As things "return to normal," she is still spending her days at her standing desk with a waterfront view. And while the nonprofit's in-person fundraising runs are finally returning, the organization plans to maintain the virtual wellness challenges it developed during the pandemic.

“We took what could be a 3-4 hour day where someone comes and runs a race, and turned it into a monthlong wellness, fitness event,” Kelleher said. “For 30 days for 30 minutes a day, they (participants) were encouraged to turn their phone off, get off their computer and do some sort of physical fitness."

These 30x30 challenges, she said, gave people a reenergized spirit with their colleagues, introduced some healthy competition and helped them “interact differently because they were doing something with a shared goal.” The next one kicks off in early May.

For more information, visit hopeforthewarriors.org.

— Taylor Hartz

Brothers 'roll with the punches'

When the pandemic struck, brothers Richard and Larry Caruso locked the doors of Caruso Piano Gallery, a mainstay in downtown New London.

The business never closed, however, and has been fortunate to actually experience an uptick in business.

Co-owner Richard Caruso explained the situation with a story about his father, John Caruso, who founded Caruso Music in 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression. John Caruso got his start giving accordion lessons and later opened a music store. He moved away from the accordion to keep up with the latest music trends. Famously, John Caruso predicted the end of the popularity of the accordion after watching Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show.

“He had this incredible ability to transition and change when the times called for it,” Richard Caruso said of his father. “In a nutshell, he taught Larry and I to roll with the punches. It’s in our DNA. When the pandemic came along, for us it was time to discuss where we were headed.”

Caruso Music already had narrowed its market from selling “everything under the sun” to just pianos in 2012 and was doing brisk online business. The online business model helped to shelter the brick-and-mortar retail side from any major losses.

The new normal today is internet sales and by-appointment visits to 94 State St., which is part showroom and part warehouse. Caruso said the pandemic also led to more interest in things like piano lessons and investments in people’s homes.

"Today is different in only that we modified our business. We're not going anywhere," he said. "We like what we do."

— Greg Smith

Mayor masked up, depending on circumstances

City of Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick, who is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot, said he still wears a mask depending on the circumstances, how crowded the environment is and if it is indoors. For example, he still wears a mask when grocery shopping but not when attending outside events. In his opinion, it’s an individual's preference about whether people wear a mask.

As a mayor, he said one of the challenges he faces is trying to protect people but not having municipal overreach. The city implemented a citywide mask mandate last August, then limited it to only the municipal building and later lifted the mandate.

Many meetings are in person or hybrid, depending on the comfort level of the board and commission members, Hedrick said. The city plans to again hold concerts in the park without any restrictions, as it did last year, and has relaxed COVID-19 standards at the beach and is thinking about resuming its Easter egg hunt.

Hedrick said he has weekly calls with Ledge Light Health District and periodic meetings with the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.

“I think we still need to be vigilant,” he said. “I think that there’s always the possibility of another variant popping up, and then we’re going to have to reevaluate where we are and what our measures are.”

— Kimberly Drelich

Door-to-door ministries on hold

James and Carol Arvanites of Groton love getting out, walking neighborhoods, meeting people and discussing the Bible and its words of comfort, especially during trying times.

James Arvanites is a lifetime Jehovah Witness, and the couple is active in the ministry of the Kingdom Hall at 170 Flanders Road, Mystic. But instead of meeting and greeting people in person, James and Carol have been writing letters and making phone calls to people who have expressed interest in learning more about the Jehovah Witness faith or who are seeking comfort through the words of the Bible. Occasionally, they will strike up conversations at grocery stores with people, and if the topic turns to religion or the desire to find ways of coping with the pandemic, the couple will suggest a passage from the Bible.

"I offer comforting words from the Bible to people," he said. "The Bible has plenty of passages of comfort." He also refers people to www.jw.org, which also offers Bible passages, online Bible classes and meeting groups.

James Arvanites, who serves on the congregation board of elders, learned Wednesday that after more than two years of pandemic online worship services, Bible classes and support sessions, the Kingdom doors will reopen for in-person services starting April 1.

"We're all very excited about getting back to seeing friends in person," he said Wednesday. "It will be nice to get back where we can visit friends, have that in-person association."

Prior to the pandemic, the 90-member congregation held meetings on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings.

But pandemic conditions have not eased enough for James and Carol Arvanites to resuming their door-to-door ministry. So for now, they will continue writing letters and making phone calls.

— Claire Bessette