[CT-NFB] FW: GOVERNOR LAMONT PROVIDES UPDATE ON CONNECTICUT'S CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE EFFORTS

Fri Dec 18 15:33:28 UTC 2020

Governor Lamont Update.

Best Regards,

Maryanne Melley

President

National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut

860-212-5549

mvcmelley at gmail.com

"Live the Life You Want"

From: Sigman, Brian <Brian.Sigman at ct.gov> 
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2020 8:48 AM
To: DORS-DL BESB <DORS-DLBESB at ct.gov>
Subject: FW: GOVERNOR LAMONT PROVIDES UPDATE ON CONNECTICUT'S CORONAVIRUS
RESPONSE EFFORTS

From: Sullivan, Kathleen <Kathleen.Sullivan at ct.gov
<mailto:Kathleen.Sullivan at ct.gov> > 
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2020 7:14 AM

Subject: FW: GOVERNOR LAMONT PROVIDES UPDATE ON CONNECTICUT'S CORONAVIRUS
RESPONSE EFFORTS

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GOVERNOR LAMONT PROVIDES UPDATE ON CONNECTICUT'S CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE
EFFORTS

Latest Data as of 5:00PM on Thursday, December 17, 2020

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(HARTFORD, CT) - As the State of Connecticut continues taking actions in
response to the global spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Governor
Ned Lamont provided the following updates as of 5:00 p.m. on Thursday,
December 17, 2020:

Data updates on testing in Connecticut

The following is a summary of the day-to-day 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.

Overall Summary

Total

Change Since Yesterday

COVID-19 Cases (confirmed and probable)

160,102

+2,321

COVID-19 Tests Reported (molecular and antigen)

3,896,941

+35,948

Daily Test Positivity

--

6.46%

Patients Currently Hospitalized with COVID-19

1,205

-49

COVID-19 Associated Deaths

5,552

+46

County-by-county breakdown of current COVID-19 hospitalizations:

County

Current COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Fairfield County

296

Hartford County

375

Litchfield County

21

Middlesex County

41

New Haven County

382

New London County

76

Tolland County

0

Windham County

14

Total

1,205

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, visit
ct.gov/coronavirus
<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fct.gov%2Fc
oronavirus&data=04%7C01%7CKathleen.Sullivan%40ct.gov%7C2ca51ca01b7a42a1eaf20
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3D&reserved=0>  and click the link that is labeled, "Data Tracker."

Data updates on vaccine distribution in Connecticut

As of today, a total of 1,982 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been
administered in Connecticut. All of the doses so far in this first week of
vaccinations have been administered to those in the healthcare workforce.

Vaccinations for those within Connecticut's nursing homes will begin on
Friday, December 18.

Weekly update on the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes and assisted living
facilities

The following documents contain the weekly data regarding each of the
nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Connecticut that have
reported positive cases of COVID-19 among their residents. The data is
presented as it was reported to the state by each of the facilities. If a
facility is not listed, that means it is reporting that it does not have any
residents who have tested positive.

**Download: Report from December 17, 2020 on COVID-19 in Connecticut nursing
homes
<https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Office-of-the-Governor/News/20201217-Nursing-
Homes-with-COVID-19.pdf> 

**Download: Report from December 17, 2020 on COVID-19 in Connecticut
assisted living facilities
<https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Office-of-the-Governor/News/20201217-Assisted
-Living-Facilities-with-COVID-19.pdf> 

Weekly update of the Department of Public Health's COVID-19 Alert Map: 166
municipalities now in red

The Connecticut Department of Public Health today released its weekly
COVID-19 Alert Map <https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/COVID-19-Data-Tracker>
, which indicates that 166 of 169 towns and cities in Connecticut are now in
the red zone alert level, the highest of the state's four alert levels.

The only municipalities in the state that are not in the red zone this week
are Barkhamsted, Canaan, and Warren.

The red zone indicates municipalities that have an average daily COVID-19
case rate over the last two weeks of greater than 15 per 100,000 population.
The orange zone indicates those that have case rates between 10 to 14 cases
per 100,000 population. The yellow zone indicates municipalities that have
case rates between 5 and 9 per 100,000 population, and those indicated in
gray have case rates lower than five per 100,000 population.

The weekly alert map is also accompanied by a chart that provides guidance
<https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Departments-and-Agencies/DPH/Communications/G
raphics/COVID-chart.jpg>  on recommended actions based on the alert levels
for individual residents; institutions such as schools, houses of worship,
and community organizations; as well as municipal leaders and local health
directors.

The COVID-19 Alert Map is updated every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. and can be
found in the Data Tracker page
<https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/COVID-19-Data-Tracker>  of the state's
coronavirus website at ct.gov/coronavirus
<https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus> .

Lamont administration notifies municipalities on updates to distribution of
COVID-19 relief funds

The Lamont administration has delivered a letter
<https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OPM/Coronavirus/122020-Muni-CRF-Program-Lette
r.pdf>  to all municipal chief elected officials in Connecticut notifying
them that the state will be increasing the levels of financial aid being
sent to towns and cities to supplement their response to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. The funding comes from the state's Coronavirus Relief
Fund, which utilizes federal funding made available through the CARES Act.
These changes will reimburse municipalities for their reported and audited
costs, establish a grant program for the municipalities, and assist
municipalities by offsetting costs related to COVID-19 testing.

To date, the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has
reimbursed municipalities for all reported claims through June 30, 2020, for
a total of approximately $14.5 million from the Connecticut Municipal
Coronavirus Relief Fund Program. Notably, the actual incurred expenses
through June 30 were significantly lower than municipalities originally
estimated. The program originally was structured to provide funds on a
reimbursement basis after the processing of Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) claims. Due to the time delays in FEMA claims processing, and
to maximize support to municipalities, OPM will be immediately providing a
direct $45.5 million allocation of the program's funds to support
municipalities with their costs for the period between July 1 and December
30, 2020.

"We have been and remain committed to assisting our municipalities as they
confront the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic," Governor Lamont said.
"Federal law has prevented us from being able to make up for their revenue
losses, and our reimbursement program was simply moving too slowly for the
cities and towns to be able to benefit from the amount we set aside earlier
this year to help with the costs we know they are experiencing. The CARES
Act requires the Coronavirus Relief Fund amounts are committed by December
30, and to allow municipalities the ability to benefit from the $75 million
allocated this summer, changes were required. We remain hopeful there will
be additional federal support to help our local governments through this
difficult time."

"The COVID-19 crisis has required state and municipal governments to be
flexible and implement paradigm-changing thinking since it arrived in
Connecticut," OPM Secretary Melissa McCaw said. "This summer we set aside
$75 million to reimburse the municipalities for their COVID-19 related
costs, but the FEMA processing time was not going to allow us to get all of
that money to the municipalities without action by the state. As a result,
we are establishing a new allocation program with expanded allowable uses to
get this essential money into our localities and expanding the scope of the
state's testing program to include local educators and school staff to help
offset those costs that the municipalities may incur. I know how valuable
this level of assistance is to maintaining operations for our cities and
towns and it was incumbent upon to make the necessary changes to get these
federal dollars out."

In summary, the Connecticut Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund Program funds
of $75 million will be distributed as follows:

*	Reimbursed claims through June 30, 2020: $14.5 million
*	Final allocation with expanded usage: $45.5 million
*	Regional testing opportunities for municipal teachers and staff: $15
million

The Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund grants of $45,498,170 will be allotted
based on the population formula below. (For a town-by-town allotment, click
here
<https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OPM/Coronavirus/122020-Muni-CRF-Program-Lette
r.pdf> .)

*	33 percent population density
*	33 percent population / Adjusted Equalized Net Grand List per capita
*	34 percent population

Testing has been critical to slow the spread of coronavirus and mitigate its
threat to public health, particularly for the most at-risk populations and
our educational system. Therefore $15 million of the $75 million allocation
has been reserved to expand regional testing opportunities for teachers and
staff to mitigate this expense for LEA's and municipalities and provide
increased support for safe operations of Connecticut's schools.

**Download: Letter from the Lamont administration to municipal chief elected
officials on COVID-19 response funding for towns and cities
<https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OPM/Coronavirus/122020-Muni-CRF-Program-Lette
r.pdf> 

Providing information to Connecticut residents

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on
COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus
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oronavirus&data=04%7C01%7CKathleen.Sullivan%40ct.gov%7C2ca51ca01b7a42a1eaf20
8d8a2dfcead%7C118b7cfaa3dd48b9b02631ff69bb738b%7C0%7C0%7C637438429421597847%
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eserved=0> . Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the
state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website
can call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and
has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a
toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 by dialing 1-800-203-1234.
This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms
but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is
experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.

###

For Immediate Release: December 17, 2020
Contact: David Bednarz

David.Bednarz at ct.gov <mailto:David.Bednarz at ct.gov> 
860-770-9792 (cell)

www.ct.gov/governor <http://www.ct.gov/governor> 

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