UPDATE: This article was updated at 10:30 pm, March 12, with the latest information about the Newtown Community Center's operational schedule and a new directive from the Newtown Health District. The original story was posted online on March 12.

* * * *

The Newtown Health District (NHD) and Newtown Community Center (NCC) have released new information in response to the growing threat of COVID-19 in response to a 3 pm announcement by Governor Ned Lamont limiting gatherings across the state to fewer than 250 people by Executive Order, with a personal preference of gatherings of no more than 100.

This prompted a memo from Health District Director Donna Culbert reiterating the governor's directive and recommending "that any organizations and staff responsible for planning mass gatherings of large community events postpone or cancel any event scheduled through April 30."

Culbert said her recommendation is to limit events to fewer than 100 persons, which was a figure "offered as guidance," and she discouraged any "gatherings of people in a way that brings them in large numbers and close proximity."

She added that the health district will "reevaluate the situation [when it] has more information."

NCC Director Matt Ariniello dispatched a subsequent notification assuring the community that he and his staff continue to work closely with the town and health district to be "proactive in preventing the spread of this virus." He said the NCC will "be following all directives from the Health District and the Office of the First Selectman and continue to monitor the situation and will take the appropriate steps as needed.

"The Community Center supports and practices the need for social distancing," Ariniello continued. "We want to assure you of our commitment to public safety to our members, team members, and the community at-large."

He said the latest facility updates include:

*All water aerobics classes are canceled on Friday, March 13.

*The Egg Dive and Bunny Breakfast scheduled for March 29 are postponed.

*All mass gatherings and public events have been canceled.

Ariniello said all other youth and adult programs are running as scheduled, and he will continue to monitor and control group sizes and work off the school district's schedule.

"As of right now, we have no restricted hours of operation. If that were to change you will be notified via e-mail and social media," Ariniello said.

"In an effort to keep up with maintenance and sanitizing, we may need to restrict access to the pools and programs and will be monitoring the traffic of the facility," he added. "The Senior Center is open, serving hot lunch but, programming is suspended at this time until further notice."

Lamont Press Briefing

At his press conference earlier today, Governor Lamont announced he was ordering the state law requiring schools to be in session for at least 180 days to be modified, effectively waiving the guideline by executive order.

State Epidemiologist Dr Matthew Cartter also said the number of infections identified in Connecticut — as of 3 pm Thursday, March 12 — was six. However one of those cases, a 20-year-old female, was tested and found to be positive for the coronavirus at Greenwich Hospital, although she resides in and is being counted as an active case in New York State.

Additionally, Dr Cartter confirmed one case in Stamford — a female in her 60s who recently returned from Italy — and a Stratford child who lived with and was exposed to another COVID-19 patient previously identified. At the time of the press event, Dr Cartter said 95 people in the state had been tested, and of the six cases positive, four are in Fairfield County, one is in Litchfield County, and the sixth is the New York case.

“No other specimens have tested positive so far,” Dr Cartter said.

The governor said his emergency order will require that schools be in session for 180 days or by June 30 at the latest. This means that if a school has not been in session for a total of 180 days by June 30, the school district has the authority to make that date the last day of the school year.

Lamont also announced that to promote social distancing in order to minimize COVID-19 exposure, he is ordering a prohibition on all gatherings across the state with more than 250 people, although he is informally urging greater restrictions.

“I’m recommending people stay out of groups of 100 or more,” the governor said, adding that with events drawing fewer people it should be easier for those attending to step further away from others around them.

The governor’s order applies to gatherings for social and recreational activities. They include but are not limited to: community, civic, leisure, sports, parades, concerts, festivals, movie screenings, conventions, fundraisers, and similar activities.

His executive order also modifies visitor restrictions in all nursing and convalescent homes in the state by clarifying what visitors must be allowed and providing the Commissioner of Public Health the authority to issue more detailed rules regarding visitation to protect the health of residents.

The order additionally authorizes the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to extend licensing renewal deadlines to reduce large crowds at DMV branches throughout the state, and relaxes restrictions on certain trucks carrying relief supplies.

DMV Extensions, DOT Precautions

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is continuing to take appropriate precautions in response to COVID-19. These actions, which began last week, are being conducted for all CTrail Hartford Line, CTrail Shore Line East, and New Haven Line (Metro-North) commuter rail services, as well as all CTtransit and local transit district bus services throughout the state.

These measures include:

*Nightly sanitizing of all trains and buses including an interior wipedown of high contact surfaces using enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols recommended by the CDC;

*Station operators have increased cleaning of stations using CDC-recommended cleaning products and methods; and

*At the busiest train stations — Stamford, Bridgeport and New Haven — touch points such as door handles, escalator handrails, and elevator buttons are being wiped down multiple times each day.

In an effort to safeguard the general public from the COVID-19 outbreak, the DMV, acting on the recent emergency declarations signed by Governor Ned Lamont, will:

*Offer a 90-day extension period to Connecticut residents with eligible expiring credentials. These credentials include drivers’ licenses, learner’s permits and identity cards that expire between March 10, 2020 and June 8, 2020;

*Postpone all scheduled road test beginning March 16 until further notice; and

*Residents who must renew their registrations should use online, phone, or mail-in renewal methods, as registrations are not covered by this order.

Any customers with questions should go to ct.gov/dmv or call the DMV contact center at 800-842-8222.

Helping Families, Workers

On March 11, in a letter to President Trump, US Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) joined 32 Senate Democrats led by Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA) to call for an economic stimulus package focused on working Americans and their families who will be most harmed by the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus in the United States.

“The spread of COVID-19 will create economic ramifications that will affect individuals, families, and regions differently. While following social distancing guidelines may be important to mitigate the spread of the virus, it creates potentially grave economic challenges for American workers who are not easily able to telework or who do not have access to paid leave.

“Further limitations on travel, access to more common general services, and cancellation of major events will potentially hurt a large number of Americans who work or depend upon hospitality, travel, tourism, and retail businesses,” wrote the Senators.

The Senators continued, “Thus the goal of any economic stimulus should be directly aimed at the two types of workers who will be most harmed. First, any proposed relief should directly target workers who may have followed medical guidance to self-quarantine because of potential exposure, or those who are required to care for a family member.

“Second, it should also ensure that workers whose employment or income is significantly jeopardized by industries who may experience the economic slowdown as a consequence of the spread of the virus are appropriately protected. Further, any mechanism to provide relief must predominately be done as a pass through to workers,” the letter continued. “Our focus should not be on boosting company returns; instead, our focus should be on helping workers, including hourly workers and those workers at small or retail businesses who often don’t have access to short term savings or paid time off.”

On Thursday, Murphy issued another statement after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell postponed recess to work on an economic relief package dealing with the coronavirus pandemic:

“Of course the Senate shouldn’t be leaving town until we’ve done our jobs. Some stuff here is hard, but passing a bill to help families and workers deal with the impacts of coronavirus shouldn’t be. We need free testing so we can understand the scope of the pandemic in our communities and get aid to medical workers. We need universal paid sick leave for all Americans and to provide nutrition assistance to those in need. We need financial assistance to make sure families can weather the storm of a missed paycheck if they cannot go to work.

“This is not a time for industry bailouts; it’s a time to protect all our constituents as we grapple with a severe public health crisis. Congress has a responsibility to show leadership at this moment when it’s lacking from the White House,” said Murphy, a member of the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

State & Local Resources

At the Thursday press conference, the governor said he and his administration continues “planning for the future.” He and his State COO Josh Geballe both praised the many state workers they said stepped up asking what more they could do on behalf of the people of Connecticut.

They, along with State Epidemiologist Dr Matthew Cartter, also praised all the professionals in various medical professions and their support staff.

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

Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can also call 211 for assistance. The information line is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance and TDD/TTY access for those with a hearing impairment.

The hotline is only intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone experiencing symptoms is strongly urged to contact their medical provider to seek treatment.

Find the latest municipal updates at newtownbee.com — and on The Newtown Bee’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages.