Governor Lamont Provides Update on Connecticut’s Coronavirus Response Efforts

(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, August 6, 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.

County-by-county breakdown:

For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “COVID-19 Data Tracker.”

Updated data on the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes and assisted living facilities

The following documents contain updated 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. These data reports are updated weekly.

State will continue covering costs of COVID-19 testing at long-term care facilities at least an additional two months

Governor Lamont today announced that the State of Connecticut will continue covering the costs of COVID-19 testing for staff in the state’s nursing home facilities, managed residential communities, and assisted living services agencies for at least an additional two months.

In June, the governor signed an executive order mandating that all staff at these facilities receive weekly testing until there are no new COVID-19 positive test results for 14 days. Upon signing the orders, the Lamont administration informed these facilities that the state will cover all of the costs of this testing for anyone who is not covered under Medicare Part B/Medicare Advantage through August 31. The state also partnered with area testing partners and labs to set up the operations to conduct this testing for nursing homes. Today’s announcement means that the state will continue this coverage through at least October 31. The governor intends to use funding from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to cover these costs.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health will be extending its contracts with its testing partners for that time period, so the long-term care facilities will not have to contract with nor pay for this critical testing. This is in addition to rate and reimbursement increases, CRF payments, the acceptance of hardship applications, and consideration of deferrals in the payment of the user fee when sought by the facilities.

The governor said the state is also extending its commitment to reimburse Managed Residential Communities/Assisted Living Services Agencies up to $150 for any employee where coverage is not available under Medicare Part B/Medicare Advantage at no cost to their employees. This assistance was set to end on August 31 and is now extended through October 31.

The results of this program of mandatory testing have been encouraging. Mandatory testing of nursing home staff has led to the detection of 223 staff members with confirmed COVID-19 between June 17 and July 28. Testing of nursing home residents has allowed for appropriate cohorting of nursing home residents to limit the spread of COVID-19 within nursing homes. Positivity among nursing home residents tested last week was 0.25 percent, even lower than the general population.

“The mandatory testing program, together with the diligence and hard work of the members and staff of these facilities, is minimizing the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives,” Governor Lamont said.

Department of Social Services, partners offer connection to food assistance, other benefits as federal unemployment aid ends, power outages continue

The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) and partners are reminding the public about availability of food assistance and other benefits as many Connecticut residents cope with losing their federal $600-weekly unemployment checks and endure power outages from Tropical Storm Isaias:

• To reach information about food pantries and distributions, visit www.211ct.org/foodpantries for the statewide list of food pantries. For a page with several links to various food resources, visit uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/food. By phone, the public can dial 2-1-1 (option 3) for referrals if they are unable to use the website, administered by the United Way of Connecticut.
• For DSS service and application information, visit www.ct.gov/dss, www.ct.gov/snap, and www.ct.gov/dss/apply. For Benefits Center information, please visit Client Information Line and Benefits Center (1-855-626-CONNECT or 1-855-626-6632).
• Residents with limited phone or internet access due to the power outage can pick up applications for DSS benefits at any of 12 DSS field offices. While currently closed for public service due to the pandemic, applications and drop-boxes are available at all offices.For office locations, please visit www.ct.gov/dss/fieldoffices.
• In addition, DSS is working with community partners to ensure that SNAP enrollees who have lost food purchased with SNAP benefits during the power outage have access points for requesting replacement benefit information and forms.These partners include End Hunger CT! (www.endhungerct.org), Connecticut Association for Community Action (www.cafca.org) and area Community Action Agencies.

Governor Lamont encourages residents to sign up for the state’s CTAlert notification system

Governor Lamont is encouraging Connecticut residents to sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system, which provides text message notifications to users. To subscribe, text the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.

Providing information to Connecticut residents

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including an FAQ and other guidance and resources, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can also call 2-1-1 for assistance, or text CTCOVID to 898211. 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 toll free 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.