Newtown has lost its sixth resident to COVID-19, according to the latest correspondence from Health District Director Donna Culbert. The individual was over the age of 80, she said.

And as of Tuesday's report from Governor Ned Lamont and the state Department of Public Health, Newtown was monitoring 103 positive coronavirus cases.

This local information came on the heels of the state reporting as of April 28, a total of 26,312 cases of COVID-19 have been reported, with 1,732 hospitalized and 2,089 COVID-19-associated deaths.

Along with seeing a sixth day decline in hospitalizations, Lamont said the total new case count was the lowest in some time at 315.

The governor welcomed state Department of Public Health Epidemiologist Kristen Soto and State Epidemiologist Dr Matthew Cartter to his daily press briefing to discuss a new state initiative aimed at identifying those who may have been unknowingly infected by others who test positive for the coronavirus.

Soto said the program, identified as ContaCT involves a Microsoft partnership to ramp up contact tracing.

The CDC defines contact tracing as a core disease control measure employed by local and state health department personnel for decades, and is a key strategy for preventing further spread of COVID-19.

The CDC says immediate action is needed and communities must scale up and train a large contact tracer workforce and work collaboratively across public and private agencies to stop the transmission of COVID-19.

Soto said the DPH and the ContaCT program is already enlisting 300 contact tracers with plans to bring on an additional 400-500 academic volunteers to be added.

Soto said the DPH will evaluate their strategy going forward regarding adding more individuals to the effort.

Learn From Home Report

Also on Tuesday, the co-chairs of the Governor’s COVID-19 Learn From Home Task Force (LFHT), Superintendents Paul Freeman and Nate Quesnel, provided an update on the shipment and distribution of the Partnership for Connecticut’s gift of 60,000 Dell laptops to high school students and the Nooyi family’s donation of more than 185,000 high-quality Scholastic book packs for PK-8 grade students in the state’s 33 Alliance Districts.

The LFHT was formed by Governor Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona to lead the advancement of equitable access to high-quality learning content at home while classes remain canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The LFHT’s first task is the safe, efficient, and timely distribution of the two philanthropic donations of critical learning materials to districts, students, and families in greatest need.

After reviewing and approving all Alliance District Laptop and Scholastic Applications, the LFHT has provided Dell and Scholastic with district contacts, final quantities, and shipping sites. Both vendors are currently coordinating with districts on logistical details.

In regard to timing, the LFHT has implemented a tiered shipment plan for the 60,000 devices in three rounds of delivery based on a thoughtful, formula-based approach that prioritizes equity, student need, and safe distribution. The first wave of nearly 17,000 Dell laptops are expected to reach district identified shipping sites in May.

In order to maximize the number of districts (19) receiving laptops - which are currently being built to arrive ready for immediate use - the first round of shipment will be devoted to shipping sites where fewer than 60 percent of students have 1:1 device access at the school level. The LFHT’s staggered shipment plan provides devices to nearly three-quarters of all shipping sites (i.e. 71 percent) so students in greatest need are connected as soon as possible.

Districts that have been selected to receive a portion of available laptops in the next round of shipments have been asked to indicate their intent to “opt-in” by the deadline of May 1st. This will also signify their adherence to the LFHT’s recommended safety protocols. Once this occurs, a representative from Dell will reach out to districts to discuss product specifics and delivery logistics of the devices, which are expected to arrive in July.

While the 185,000 Scholastic book packs were scheduled to arrive on or around April 23, the LFHT informed districts last week that the shipments have been delayed slightly because of COVID-19 disruptions to the company’s warehouse operations. The book packs are now expected to arrive during the week of May 4.

Scholastic will be communicating with each district’s respective shipping location contact on their new estimated delivery dates. The quantities of Scholastic book packs for districts were supplemented with student enrollments in “programs” including pre-kindergarten programs. As such, some districts will receive greater quantities of book packs than originally anticipated.

“While the delivery and distribution of these resources prioritizes the safety and well-being of our school communities, the ultimate goal of the Task Force is to ensure all students have equitable access to opportunities for success and continue to receive a high-quality education at home," said co-chairs Freeman and Quesnel. "To that end, we are already creating a framework to support Connecticut’s most under-resourced school districts with effectively employing remote learning methods that meet the needs of every student and minimize this disruption to PK-12 education.”

Front Line Childcare Support

On Monday, the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood has launched the CTCARES for Frontline Workers Program, which was created to help frontline workers struggling with the costs of child care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program provides subsidies directly to child care providers so that children can get the care they need so their parents or guardians are able to get to work.

Under the program, frontline workers include anyone who must work outside of their own home for at least eight hours a week caring for people or providing in-person direct services and essential goods. Some examples of frontline workers may include:

*Health care workers

*First responders

*Child care workers

*Grocery workers

*Workers at state facilities

*Home/group home care workers (for seniors, youth, mental health, or people with disabilities)

*People who provide in-person services to any of the above

The subsidy depends on the number of children in the household who need care and the number of hours the frontline worker needs to work.

If a frontline employee works 21 or more hours each week:

*For one child, $200 each week for up to six weeks

*For two or more children, up to a maximum of $500 per family each week for up to 6 weeks

If a frontline employee works 8 to 20 hours each week:

*For one child, $100 each week for up to six weeks

*For two or more children, up to a maximum of $250 per family each week for up to 6 weeks

This program is ineligible to anyone already participating in the Care 4 Kids program, and there is a family income limit of up to 85 percent of the state median income to qualify. Applications are being accepted from Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 22.

To apply, call 1-800-505-1000.

For more information, including details on who qualifies, read about the program on the Office of Early Childcare’s website by CLICKING HERE

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

The Newtown Bee is continuing to provide and mirror information and messages coming from local and state agencies on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Newtown residents can get more details by visiting Newtown’s own COVID-19 web page: CLICK HERE

Residents can also review all prior COVID-19 updates and follow the newspaper’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages for breaking local and state reports.

Please check in regularly, share, and follow the newspaper’s hyperlocal coverage at newtownbee.com through the remainder of this public health emergency.