COVID-19 Connecticut Capitol Update 5-13-20
- The Governor established an online web portal of resources for businesses, consumers, and others during this public health crisis. Visit www.ct.gov/coronavirus for more information.
- For a comprehensive overview of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) assembled by the Governor’s Office, please click here.
- O’Neill and Associates has created a useful resource page to navigate the Small Business Administration (SBA) financial assistance programs, which can be found here.
- As of May 12, 2020, 34,333 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported. The virus has appeared in all 8 counties, 1,189 patients are hospitalized (down 23 patients statewide), and 3,041 residents have passed away. 138,424 tests have been conducted so far.
- Hospitalizations in Connecticut have been steadily declining for 20 days, with only a 1 day outlier increase in the middle of that dataset.
- A full breakdown of those cases can be found here.
- The State Capitol complex will remain closed until further notice.
- No date has been set to hold a special session at this time, though legislative leaders have indicated they would like to return sometime in June.
- Governor Lamont has issued a total of 40 executive orders since March 12, 2020.
- Several orders have also been issued by the Departments of Public Health, Consumer Protection, Insurance, Health Strategy, Motor Vehicles, Revenue Services, Housing, Transportation, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, and other agencies—which can also be found here.
- Last night, the Governor signed Executive Order No. 7MM which:
- Allows municipalities to expedite changes to their zoning rules or other ordinances to expand outdoor dining
- Creates an expedited approval process for restaurants and other establishments that serve food to get fast-tracked permission to create or expand outdoor dining areas
- Allows other businesses such as retail stores to get fast-tracked permission to sell goods on the sidewalk or in other outdoor areas, including shared spaces or spaces provided by municipalities
- Allows restaurants and other businesses who already have liquor permits to serve alcohol only with food without applying for a separate patio or extension of use permit
- Allows private clubs to sell alcohol only to their members for delivery or pickup
- To watch the Governor’s full briefing from last night, please click here.
- Until further notice, all residents are required to wear, at least, a cloth face covering or mask when in public spaces if social distancing is not possible.
- The Department of Economic and Community Development released guidance applicable to the certain businesses that will be allowed to open on May 20th if they follow specific guidelines.
- Governor Lamont replaced his Commissioner of Public Health Renée Coleman-Mitchell and has appointed his Commissioner of Social Services, Deidre Gifford, as Acting Commissioner of Public Health while a national search is conducted to refill the position on a permanent basis.
- In early March, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Health left the agency, citing a hostile work environment in her resignation letter.
- Several media outlets have confirmed with unnamed sources that Commissioner Coleman-Mitchell was terminated, likely due to her handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in nursing homes, mismanagement of the agency, and controversy surrounding her handling of a vaccine issue last year.
- The Governor’s Office has hired Boston Consulting Group to assist their efforts, alongside the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, in establishing guidelines to reopen the state’s economy.
- The CEO of Yale-New Haven Health System, Marna Borgstrom, said that she expects her facilities will be able to test 5,000 people per day this month, rising to 10,000 tests per day by the end of June, and likely up to 20,000 tests per day by late Summer.
- After the Governor announced that the state has received more than 15 million pieces of PPE from Chinese suppliers, it was reported that Border and Customs Patrol has seized many pieces of faulty PPE in other parts of the country, which were mostly shipped from Chinese supplies.
- The Governor was asked about this seizure in his media briefing and expressed confidence that all of the PPE will be as advertised, citing his international businesses contact network that he utilized to make these deliveries.
- The total cost of the PPE was more than $10 million.
- The Governor said all of the PPE will be inspected before it is dispersed.
- The Governor’s Office is meeting with Dental Hygienists after several expressed concerns about their safety before returning to work.
- Governor Lamont also received his first COVID-19 test yesterday and said he is awaiting the results.
