Update: June 8 7:00 p.m. – State Response to Coronavirus

Friends and Neighbors,

In a press release and during his daily press briefing, Governor Lamont announced that Connecticut’s river ferries will reopen on June 20. He also said he ordered an independent analysis of nursing homes and assisted living facilities regarding pandemic preparation and response.

To watch a video of his press conference, please click here:

More information and the governor’s full press release can be read here: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/06-2020/Governor-Lamont-Coronavirus-Update-June-8

Connecticut’s river ferries to resume operations June 20

The Connecticut Department of Transportation today announced that the state’s two ferries that provide service across the Connecticut River – one between Rocky Hill and Glastonbury and the other between Chester and Hadlyme – will resume operations beginning Saturday, June 20, 2020. Typically, the ferries begin operating April 1, however that was delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chester-Hadlyme Ferry will operate between 7:00 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and between 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry will operate between 7:00 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, and between 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry is the oldest continuously operated ferry service in the country, having started service in 1655.

For more information, read the press release issued today by the Department of Transportation.

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Governor Lamont Orders Independent Analysis of COVID-19 in Connecticut’s Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is ordering an independent, third-party review to be conducted of the preparation and response to the COVID-19 pandemic inside of Connecticut’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The review will incorporate a top-to-bottom analysis of all elements of the pandemic and how it was addressed in these facilities, which were disproportionately impacted by the virus. The governor said he wants the analysis completed before the start of autumn in order to prepare for a potential second wave of the virus.

The Lamont administration will soon solicit proposals from third-party experts to conduct the review. Before it begins, the administration plans to collaborate with legislative leaders to develop a scope that ensures the review provides the state with meaningful information that can best improve the safety of patients and staff in these facilities. The awarded independent expert will be directed to work widely across state government and include input from the legislative and executive branches, as well as key stakeholders, such as the operators of long-term care facilities, the unions that represent the staff who work in these facilities, patients, health experts, and others.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on all elements of Connecticut’s health care infrastructure, but no sector had more direct and tragic consequences than the nursing homes and assisted living facilities. To date, Connecticut’s nursing homes have experienced over 2,500 resident deaths and more than 8,500 cases in a population of just over 21,000. More than 60 percent of total deaths in Connecticut have been among residents of nursing homes.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health, under the direction of Governor Lamont, took several aggressive steps to contain these outbreaks, including:

• Becoming one of the first states to discontinue visitation in early March;
• Establishing dedicated COVID-recovery facilities to prevent COVID-positive patients from re-entering nursing homes;
• Greatly enhancing inspection and monitoring of infection control practices by leveraging the Connecticut National Guard;
• Delivering millions of units of personal protective equipment (PPE) through the state’s mutual aid program;
• Providing a $125 million financial aid package for nursing homes to support staff payment, infection control, PPE costs, and other pandemic-related expenses; and
• Establishing a new category of worker, the Temporary Nurse Aide, to assist with staffing shortages.

In May and June, Connecticut facilitated testing of every nursing home resident who had not previously tested positive. Governor Lamont also signed an executive order requiring the staff at all nursing homes, managed residential communities, and assisted living facilities to be tested for COVID-19 every week for the duration of the public health and civil preparedness emergency.

The solicitation of proposals for an outside expert to conduct the review will be released in the next several days.

More information can be found here: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/06-2020/Governor-Lamont-Orders-Independent-Analysis-of-COVID19-in-Nursing-Homes

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As of 4:00 p.m. – Monday, June 8^th – the state is reporting a total of 44092 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 4084.

*In Connecticut during the early months of this pandemic, it became increasingly clear that it would be necessary to track probable COVID-19 cases and deaths, in addition to laboratory-confirmed (RT- PCR) cases and deaths. This was needed to better measure the burden and impact of this disease in our communities and is now part of the national surveillance case definition for COVID-19. Probable cases of COVID-19 involve persons who have not had confirmatory laboratory testing (RT-PCR) performed for COVID-19, but whose symptoms indicate they are likely to have a COVID-19 infection. In Connecticut, most of the probable COVID-19 cases involve persons whose death certificates list COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. Prior to June 1, probable and confirmed cases were reported together.

Latest COVID-19 Testing Data in Connecticut

Updated 4:00 p.m. on Monday, June 8, 2020

Total patients who tested positive: 42017 confirmed/2075 probable

Fairfield County: 153379/293

Hartford County: 10145/313

Litchfield County: 1360/21

Middlesex County: 1130/35

New Haven County: 11472/143

New London County: 1057/25

Tolland County: 787/14

Windham County: 421/1

Pending address validation: 266/0