April 13, 2020

Update: April 13 7:30 p.m. – State Response to Coronavirus

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Friends and Neighbors,

Governor Lamont this evening announced several measures regarding Connecticut’s business community, including the establishment of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group which will be tasked with developing health and business metrics to help officials determine when and how to lift restrictions and reopen state businesses. Connecticut will also join other New England states to create a multi-state council to use scientific, statistical, social and economic information to manage virus response with the goal of easing social isolation without triggering renewed spread.

To watch the full video of the governor’s afternoon press conference, please click here:

The governor’s full press release can be read here: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/04-2020/Governor-Lamont-Coronavirus-Update-April-13

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Connecticut Department of Social Services announces infusion of emergency food assistance funding for food banks

The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) today announced the allocation of over $3.8 million in federal food assistance to two of the state’s largest food banks, including the Connecticut Food Bank, which will receive $1.9 million for food and nearly $650,000 for administrative costs, and Foodshare, which will receive nearly $1 million for food and $300,00 for administrative costs.

The funding comes from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). The funding will enable both of these organizations to increase their orders of TEFAP foods (including canned, frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, milk and cheese, and whole-grain and enriched grain products like rice, cereal, and pasta) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture food-ordering system. It will also help meet the increased demand for food in the community through the statewide network of food pantries, soup kitchens and distribution sites. Administrative costs cover trucking/delivery, warehousing, refrigerating, and staffing.

In addition, the recently adopted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) is anticipated to provide additional TEFAP funding for Connecticut. DSS is waiting for guidance from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service about the state’s allocation and when the aid will be available. Those funds are also expected to be allocated to the Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare.

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Governor Lamont, Governor Cuomo, Governor Murphy, Governor Raimondo, Governor Wolf, Governor Carney Announce Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy

Council Will Develop a Fully Integrated Regional Framework to Gradually Lift the States’ Stay at Home Orders While Minimizing the Risk of Increased Spread of the Virus

(HARTFORD, CT) – Recognizing that their states have one integrated regional economy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, and Delaware Governor John Carney today announced the creation of a multi-state council to restore the economy and get people back to work. This announcement builds on the states’ ongoing regional approach to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coordinating group – comprised of one health expert, one economic development expert and the respective chief of staff from each state – will work together to develop a fully integrated regional framework to gradually lift the states’ stay at home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus.

The council will create this framework using every tool available to accomplish the goal of easing social isolation without triggering renewed spread – including testing, contact tracing, treatment and social distancing – and will rely on the best available scientific, statistical, social and economic information to manage and evaluate those tools.

For more information: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/04-2020/Massachusetts-Joins-Connecticut-New-York-New-Jersey-Rhode-Island-Pennsylvania-and-Delaware

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Governor Lamont Announces Creation of Group of Health and Business Experts Who Will Provide Advice and Recommendations on the Reopening of Connecticut’s Economy

Created by the Nonprofit Organization AdvanceCT, the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group Will Provide Recommendations to the Lamont Administration as the Nation Emerges from COVID-19

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the nonprofit organization AdvanceCT plans to form a panel of experts from within the state’s medical and business community that will consult with and advise his administration with respect to reopening Connecticut’s economy as the nation emerges from the unprecedented public health emergency caused by COVID-19.

That panel will be known as the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group and will examine issues concerning how best to allow commerce to begin, while also ensuring the state’s public health and well-being are protected. Established and governed by AdvanceCT, the group will consult with state and regional partners and experts on next steps, and will remain in frequent contact with the Lamont administration in the coming days and weeks.

The advisory group will be co-chaired by Indra Nooyi, who the current board co-chair of AdvanceCT and the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, and Albert Ko MD, who is a professor of Epidemiology and Medicine and a department chair at the Yale School of Public Health. Other senior advisors will include Ezekiel Emanuel, who serves as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, and Scott Gottlieb, who is a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. AdvanceCT expects to announce additional members in the coming days.

For more information: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/04-2020/Governor-Lamont-Announces-Creation-of-Group-of-Health-and-Business-Experts

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As of 4:00 p.m. tonight – Monday, April 13th – the state has diagnosed a total of 13381 cases of Coronavirus. Updated virus totals and Town-by-Town statistics can be accessed here: https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus

The total statewide number of COVID-19 associated fatalities is 602.

Latest COVID-19 Testing Data in Connecticut

Updated 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 13, 2020

Total patients who tested positive: 13381

Fairfield County: 6004

Hartford County: 2243

Litchfield County: 446

Middlesex County: 339

New Haven County: 3358

New London County: 222

Tolland County: 195

Windham County: 83

Pending address validation: 491