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 Wednesday, December 9, 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 of current COVID-19 hospitalizations:

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 and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”

Additional SNAP benefits coming December 16 to 112,000 households in Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Social Services today announced that it will provide $16.9 million in Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits to more than half of Connecticut SNAP-eligible households on Wednesday, December 16 – adding to the $157.2 million in emergency benefits disbursed in April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November.

Authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the extra food benefits will go to approximately 112,000 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 112,000 of 210,279 SNAP-participating households statewide will receive the emergency benefits in December.
• With this additional $16.9 million allocation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, emergency benefits are totaling over $174.1 million in additional SNAP assistance statewide during April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December, with commensurate spending in the food economy.
• The average emergency benefit amount a household will see on its electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card on December 16 is $154.
• 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 on or after December 16 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 allow the household’s SNAP benefit to increase to the maximum allotment for a household of that size as follows:

For example, if a household of two normally received $274 of SNAP benefits in December, $100 would bring this household up to the maximum benefit for its size. This household will receive a $100 emergency benefit on December 16.

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.