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 4:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13, 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.”

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.

More than 300,000 users activated COVID Alert CT on their mobile devices since yesterday’s launch

Since yesterday's launch, more than 300,000 users in Connecticut have activated COVID Alert CT on their mobile devices. Available on Apple and Android devices, the smartphone feature uses Bluetooth to anonymously notify users if they have come into close proximity of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes.

For Android devices, COVID Alert CT comes in the form of an app that users must download from Google Play and install on their device.

For Apple devices, the feature is already installed on all devices operating iOS 13.7 or later but must be manually turned on by the user in order to function. To activate this feature, Apple users must go to Settings, select Exposure Notifications, and then select Turn On Exposure Notifications. From there, users should select United States and then Connecticut.

All information is secure and private, and the app will never reveal who the user is to anyone else.

For more information about how the feature works, visit ct.gov/covidalertct.

Additional SNAP benefits coming November 19 to 110,000 households in Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Social Services today announced that it will provide $16 million in Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits to more than half of Connecticut SNAP-eligible households on Thursday, November 19 – adding to the $137.8 million in emergency benefits disbursed in April, May, June, July, August, September, and October.

Authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the extra food benefits will go to approximately 110,000 households not currently receiving the maximum benefits allowed for their household size. This means that all households enrolled in SNAP will receive the maximum food benefit allowable for their household size, even if they are not usually eligible for the maximum benefit.

Specifically:

• The Department of Social Services reports that approximately 110,000 of 213,541 SNAP-participating households statewide will receive the emergency benefits in November.
• With this additional $16 million allocation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, emergency benefits are totaling over $153.8 million in additional SNAP assistance statewide during April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November with commensurate spending in the food economy.
• The average emergency benefit amount a household will see on its electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card on November 19 is $153.00.
• All participating households also received their normal SNAP benefits on the first three days of each month they normally do, according to last name.
• If a household is granted regular SNAP benefits after November 19 and is also eligible for the emergency supplemental benefits, the latter benefits will be added to the EBT card on a Friday, depending on the date of granting.

Emergency benefits allowed the household’s SNAP benefit to increase to the maximum allotment for a household of that size as follows:

For each additional person, add $153. For example, if a household of two normally received $274 of SNAP benefits in November, $100 would bring this household up to the maximum benefit for its size. This household will receive a $100 emergency benefit on November 19.

For additional information about SNAP, visit www.ct.gov/snap.

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. 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.