Update: May 5 8:30 p.m. – State Response to Coronavirus

Friends and Neighbors,

Governor Lamont this evening announced Executive Order 7II

Executive Order No. 7II enacts the following provisions:

• Extension of school class cancellations for remainder of school year: Extends the cancellation of in-person classes at public schools statewide for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. Schools will be required to continue providing distance learning during this period.
• Authorization for the Department of Social Services commissioner to temporarily waive, modify, or suspend home health regulatory requirements: Makes it easier for Medicaid members to access home health services by allowing payment for these services to be ordered by advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, in addition to physicians.
• Extension of the start date for imposition of a late fee for obtaining dog licenses from July 1, 2020 to August 1, 2020: Provides dog owners with a grace period through July 31, 2020 before a late fee is imposed for dog licenses, which are normally issued in June of each year.
• Authority to waive certain requirements for the issuance of vouchers under the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children: To limit the need for in-person transactions, this order waives the signature requirement on the voucher registry for the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, and permits any adult to act as a designated proxy to pick up and redeem the vouchers on behalf of an eligible participant.

To watch the full video of the governor’s afternoon 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/2020/05-2020/Governor-Lamont-Coronavirus-Update-May-5

Governor Lamont Announces Classes at K-12 Public Schools Will Remain Canceled for the Rest of the Academic Year

Schools to Continue Providing Distance Learning and Meals Programs

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he is ordering in-person classes at all K-12 public school facilities in Connecticut to remain canceled for the rest of the 2019-2020 academic year and continue providing distance learning during this period. Schools will also be required to continue providing meals to children under the school lunch and breakfast programs for consumption at home, as they have been throughout this emergency.

The governor is consulting with state and local education officials regarding whether summer school programming should commence as scheduled. He anticipates having guidance on that matter toward the end of this month.

Governor Lamont, State Department of Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, and Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye discussed these issues during the governor’s 4:00 p.m. news briefing.

During the initial outbreak, Governor Lamont signed an executive order directing in-person classes at all K-12 public school facilities to be canceled effective March 17. That order was initially set to expire on March 31 but then was extended twice, most recently to May 20.

Upon the cancellation, the Connecticut State Department of Education immediately began working with every school district in the state to assess distance learning needs. A state team was formed to support districts that indicated having high or moderate needs in the area of distance learning. These teams have been in frequent communication with district leaders to offer and provide support and technical assistance. The state continues to provide vetted resources, guidance, and answers to questions on issues such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, attendance, grading, special education, and social emotional learning.

Governor Lamont will soon sign an executive order regarding today’s announcement. It will be publicly noticed and published on the governor’s website shortly after he signs it.

Distribution of donated laptops and Scholastic books

The State Department of Education and the Governor’s Learn from Home Task Force have been continuing to coordinate the distribution of remote learning resources that have been donated to Connecticut, including 60,000 Dell laptops from the Partnership for Connecticut, and more than 185,000 high-quality Scholastic book packs for prekindergarten to eighth grade students from the Nooyi family. Due to global supply chain shortages during the pandemic, the laptops and book packs are arriving to Connecticut in staggered waves.

The task force has implemented a tiered shipment plan for the laptops in three rounds of delivery using a formula-based approach prioritizing equity, student need, and safe distribution. The first round of nearly 17,000 laptops, targeted for delivery around May 25, will be delivered to 19 districts where fewer than 60 percent of students have one-to-one device access at the school level. The staggered shipment plans are focused on connecting students who have been identified as in greatest need as soon as possible. Initial eligibility for the donated laptops was limited to high schools across the state’s Alliance District program. Once the needs were identified for those schools, eligibility expanded to include high schools beyond Alliance Districts where more than 40 percent of students quality for free or reduced-price meals.

The majority of the Scholastic book packs are expected to begin arriving from the manufacturer this week. Last week, the first shipments of 340 book packs arrived in Bridgeport schools, and 119 arrived at Bristol’s Early Childhood Center. Additional shipments to sites in Hartford and Norwalk are expected today and will continue over the next several days.

Connecticut schools have served four million meals under emergency meals programs

Throughout the emergency, Connecticut’s public schools have served more than four million meals to students under the emergency meals programs. A total of 130 school districts are currently serving meals at 458 locations statewide. In accordance with federal requirements, the state is operating two emergency meals programs:

• Under one program, certain school districts are authorized to serve meals only to students who attend their schools or any other child 18 years of age and younger residing in the same household.
• Under the other program, certain school districts are authorized to serve meals to any child 18 years of age and younger, regardless of which town or city the child lives or what school they attend.

Households should check with the individual school districts for information on the time and location the meals are being served, and further guidance regarding their distribution.

More information can be found here: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/05-2020/Governor-Lamont-Announces-Classes-at-Schools-Will-Remain-Canceled-for-the-Rest-of-the-Academic-Year

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Department of Revenue Services extends application deadline for municipalities to submit locally approved Neighborhood Assistance Act proposals

In recognition of the impact of COVID-19, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) has extended the application deadline for municipalities to submit their locally approved Neighborhood Assistance Act project proposals until July 31, 2020. The State of Connecticut awards up to five million dollars in tax credits to businesses that sponsor approved projects on behalf of a tax-exempt organization or municipal agency through the Neighborhood Assistance Act, which is administered annually by DRS.

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

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Nurses Week 2020: The Year of the Nurse

Tomorrow kicks off Nurses Week 2020 and I hope you’ll join me to pause and say thank you to the nurses who work the front lines to keep us safe day in and day out.

Their compassion and commitment to others, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, exemplifies the best in our community.

Thank you for always putting others before yourself. Be safe!

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As of 4:00 p.m. tonight – Tuesday, May 5^th – the state is reporting a total of 30621 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 2633.

*For public health surveillance, COVID-19-associated deaths include persons who tested positive for COVID-19 around the time of death (confirmed) and persons whose death certificate lists COVID-19 disease as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death (probable).

Latest COVID-19 Testing Data in Connecticut

Updated 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Total patients who tested positive: 30621

Fairfield County: 12360

Hartford County: 6351

Litchfield County: 1065

Middlesex County: 734

New Haven County: 8337

New London County: 681

Tolland County: 502

Windham County: 223

Pending address validation: 368