Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I want to wish you and your family a Happy, Safe, and Healthy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving will look different this year for many of us, but despite our current challenges, I invite you to take a few moments tomorrow to reflect on what we have to be thankful for. For me, I am thankful for our first responders, the medical and scientific community, our veterans and active servicemen and servicewomen, our teachers and school staff, our nonprofits, charities, and volunteers who are working hard to help those in need, and all of our essential workers who have worked extra hard to keep us safe during this difficult year. We will get through this time together.

Below you will find some information that may be helpful to you and your family.

Small Business Saturday

This Saturday, November 28, is Small Business Saturday – a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for our communities.

Due to the continued impact on local businesses from COVID-19, we know that small businesses need our support now more than ever as they struggle to keep their doors open and employees working.

Please join the Small Business Association (SBA) and organizations across the country in supporting your local small businesses by shopping small.

Veterans and Gold Star Families to Receive New Waivers

Veterans and Gold Star Families now receive free access to national parks, wildlife refuges and other Federal lands managed by U.S. Dept. of Interior. This includes 2,000 public locations spread out across more than 400 million acres of public lands.

To view the list of National Parks by state, click here.

For more information on what and who is covered under this access, click here to read information provided by the National Park Service below.

Free COVID testing in Old Saybrook

The Community Health Center is offering free COVID-19 drive thru tests at Saybrook Point 7 days a week from 8:30am to 4pm. You do not need a doctor’s note or an appointment, but please be aware the wait to be tested can be long. Please note the site will be closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving.

DPH Partners with Nonprofit Organization to Launch Jobs Portal for Long-Term Care Workforce

To address staffing needs and shortages in nursing homes statewide, the Connecticut Department of Public Health announced the launch of the ConnectToCare online portal to match long-term care facilities in the state with hundreds of qualified potential staff.

Job seekers eligible to register for ConnectToCare include those qualified for the newly created position of Temporary Nurse Aide, but will also include those qualified for the following positions in nursing homes:

• Certified nursing assistants
• Registered nurses
• Licensed vocational nurses
• Social workers
• Activity aides
• Speech therapists
• Cooks
• Environmental service aides

Anyone who wants to register as a job seeker in long-term care can do so by clicking here.

High Extended Benefits to End Week of Dec. 12th

The Department of Labor have announced the week of December 12, they will be “triggering off” the “High Extended Benefits” due to a decline in the state’s unemployment rate.

According to the department, “the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts the unemployment rate at 6.1%, down from 7.8% in September; however the state’s economists estimate the real unemployment rate is closer to 11%, down from 12-13% last month.”

The falling unemployment rate pushes the state off the High Extended Benefit period by bringing the three-month average unemployment rate below 8% — a federal threshold that authorizes an additional seven weeks of benefits to unemployment and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claimants.

To read the release from the Department of Labor, click here.

PURA Extends Utility COVID-19 Payment Program Enrollment Date

The enrollment period for the payment program for both residential and non-residential customers is extended through at least February 9, 2021. In addition, the Winter Protection Program is also in effect from November 1st through May 1, 2021. This program protects eligible households against heat source shut-offs during the winter months.

Anyone who may be experiencing difficulty paying their utility bills should contact their utility company and ask:

• First, whether the residential customer is eligible to be “coded hardship” and enrolled in the Winter Protection Program.
• Second, if ineligible for hardship status or a non-residential customer, to enroll in a COVID-19 Payment Plan.

To read more on whether or not you meet the eligibility requirements for the Winter Protection Plan, click here.

Important to Note:

No customer actively enrolled in a COVID-19 Payment Program can have their service terminated for non-payment.

Additional State Resources

The state website carries useful information and resources for many stakeholders. The site is updated regularly and includes a helpful “frequently asked questions” guide. I’m also providing a link to the executive orders issued to date by the Governor.

You can also sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system, which provides text message notifications to users. To subscribe, text the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.

Data Updates on Testing in Connecticut

The state provides daily summaries on newly reported data on cases, deaths, and tests in Connecticut. It is important to note that these newly reported updates include data that occurred over the last several days to a week. All data in this report are preliminary, and data for previous dates will be updated as new reports are received and data errors are corrected.

For a series of interactive graphs and maps that provide additional data, including metrics related to age, gender, and race/ethnicity, as well as data broken down by every town and city in Connecticut, click here.