Coronavirus Quiets St. Patrick's Day Across Connecticut

No parades. No trips to the casinos or neighborhood bars. Even Dropkick Murphys are moving their annual St. Patrick's Day concert online. It's the first time in 24 years they haven't played in front of a live audience. The physical celebrations of St. Patrick's Day in Connecticut, and nationwide, are essentially cancelled -- or at least drastically altered -- this year.

Here's the latest on the coronavirus pandemic in Connecticut.

Topline

• Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are closing tonight. It's the first time since both establishments have closed since they opened in the 1990s. 
  
• As of last night, restaurants must be takeout or delivery only. Bars that don't serve food, movie theaters, and gyms are closed.
• Tom Brady is leaving the New England Patriots. This isn't coronavirus-related news, but it's the most trending topic on Twitter. Condolences to New England fans, and congratulations to everyone else. Read his letter on Instagram.

By The Numbers

• 41 cases confirmed in Connecticut as of Monday morning.

The Latest

• Connecticut's two tribal casinos are closing tonight at 8 p.m. for two weeks. This is the first time they've closed since opening for business -- Foxwoods in 1992 and Mohegan Sun in 1996. Yesterday, regional governors announced commercial casinos would close, but that did not include the tribal casinos, which operate on sovereign land. Governor Ned Lamont had been urging the casinos to close while the state deals with the coronavirus outbreak.  
• Drive-thru testing for COVID-19 is approved for seven hospitals in Connecticut. State officials say anyone seeking to be tested must have a prescription from their doctor and make an appointment in advance. Greenwich and Stamford Hospitals are already up and running, while Bristol Health, Danbury Hospital, Waterbury Hospital and Yale-New Haven Hospital are at various stages of being set-up for drive-through testing. 
• Stop & Shop grocery stores will open up early for older residents to shop. Starting Thursday, the stores will be open for customers age 60 and over from 6-7:30 a.m. The chain says employees won't be checking IDs at the door, but hope customers will respect their efforts.

Bored While Social Distancing? Here Are Some Longreads To Get You Through

• Does Coronavirus Mean the End of Sports as We Know Them? (John Branch in The New York Times)
• America's Restaurants Will Need a Miracle (Derek Thompson in The Atlantic)
• What Went Wrong with Coronavirus Testing in the U.S. (Robert P. Baird in The New Yorker)

Moment Of Zen

We’re borrowing this line from Jon Stewart because everybody needs at least a moment of zen right now.

Bob Weir recently brought his trio to NPR’s Tiny Desk and performed the Grateful Dead classic “Ripple.” The song will never be as good without Jerry Garcia behind the mic. But Bob brought in Mikaela Davis on harp, which I thought was beautiful.

What has brought you a moment of zen recently? Email me at tives@ctpublic.org and I’ll try to share as many as possible on these daily blogs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now go wash your hands.