Selectman Maureen Crick Owen has agreed to be Newtown’s appointed liaison and will serve with counterparts from each Connecticut municipality as part of a statewide COVID-19 Long Term Recovery initiative.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal shared the news with The Newtown Bee on May 5.

Crick Owen will also head up Newtown’s Local Long-Term Recovery Committee (LTRC). Other members of that local panel will be appointed and announced in the coming weeks.

“Maureen has agreed to take on this role in her capacity as one of our two selectmen, given the fact that she is willing and able to attend many of the planned meetings — a number of which will likely be held during the day,” Rosenthal said.

On Wednesday, May 6, Governor Ned Lamont said hospitalizations were downtrending again after a one day spike in COVID-19 related admissions, which he said keeps plans on track to begin a May 20 plan to begin reopening the state.

By 8:30 pm the previous evening, a total of 30,995 cases of COVID-19 had been reported among Connecticut residents (up 374 from May 4), with 1,445 patients currently hospitalized (down 55), and 2,718 COVID-19-associated deaths (up 85).

Newtown was identified as having 128 active COVID-19 cases and had logged ten deaths as of May 5, according to Health District Director Donna Culbert.

As the states at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis consider how and when to reopen their economies, new state polls in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut find majorities of voters in all three states are overwhelmingly supportive of their respective governors’ responses and their states’ restrictions. Majorities also say it will take at least a few months before their states are safe to begin to lift their stay at home orders and reopen their economies.

The Quinnipiac University polls were conducted simultaneously, and include a combined more than 2,800 registered voters.

Roughly two-thirds of those surveyed in each state say the restrictions put in place in their state to slow the spread of the coronavirus are about right, while only about 20 percent in each state think they do not go far enough, and about 15 percent think they go too far. Majorities in all three states do not think their states should reopen any time soon, however.

Timeframes for when voters in Connecticut think it will be safe to begin to lift their state’s stay at home order and reopen the economy are:

*In the next few months or longer: 59 percent.

*Immediately or in the next few weeks: 38 percent.

Even if restrictions were lifted in the next few weeks, roughly seven out of ten in each state would be uncomfortable going to restaurants or bars, more than eight out of ten would not be comfortable going to a large sports or entertainment event, and people in each state are split about returning to work outside the home.

There is a clear consensus that the states should be prioritizing slowing the spread of the coronavirus by keeping people home, even if it hurts the economy, say 71 percent of voters surveyed, while only about a quarter in each state think reopening the economy should be the top priority. A majority (NY, 75-20 percent; NJ, 74-20 percent, Conn., 76-19 percent) also think that there should be more testing in their state in order to begin to lift stay at home orders.

A majority of people in each state know someone who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and worry that infection is pervasive. In Connecticut, 61 percent know someone who has been diagnosed, 33 percent know someone who has been hospitalized, and 22 percent know someone who has died.

Also, 65 percent are very or somewhat worried that they will be infected and get seriously ill, while 78 percent are very or somewhat worried that someone in their family will be infected and get seriously ill.

Roughly half of each state say that the coronavirus crisis has caused them financial hardship (NY, 48 percent; NJ, 51 percent; Conn., 46 percent), while about one third say they have lost their job or a substantial portion of their household income.

Close to four in ten say that they are very or somewhat concerned about their household being able to pay their bills in the next month (NY, 41 percent; NJ, 39 percent; Conn., 35 percent), and about three in ten in each state are very or somewhat concerned about having enough food to eat.

In Connecticut, 51 percent of those surveyed said they do not believe the state will be back to normal a year from now, versus 46 percent who do.

College Reopening Scenario

On Wednesday afternoon, May 6, Lamont announced that he has received a detailed report containing recommendations for a phased reopening of colleges and universities in Connecticut in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report was prepared by Rick Levin, former president of Yale University, and Linda Lorimer, former vice president of global and strategic initiatives at Yale University, both of whom are the co-chairs of the education committee of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group. Levin and Lorimer appeared at Lamont’s daily press briefing.

Levin said a big part of the success of the plan involves the availability of masks for all students and staff, and utilizing six-foot separation in as many situations and locations as possible. Lorimer added that accommodations would need to be put in place to respond if or when outbreaks do occur.

The recommendations include the gradual reopening of higher education campuses over the course of the summer — at the discretion of each institution — based on the type of educational programs offered and whether they provide residential services. By the fall semester, if prevailing health conditions permit, all of the sector may reopen, although institutions will be free to decide whether they need more time for certain programs to restart.

The reopening of any higher education institution will need to be phased based on the varied nature of the activities on its campus. For example, research operations function similarly to the operations of a place of business and can be restarted relatively quickly. Likewise, community colleges are easier to open than fully residential colleges, where the challenges are much greater given that students live together in close quarters.

“Our colleges and universities are the springboard for so many to launch their careers, and they are an economic engine of the state,” Lamont said. “And of course it can’t go without saying that Connecticut’s great research universities are working to help bring an end to the current pandemic.

“Given the heterogeneity of our colleges and universities, one size won’t fit all, which is why we need carefully tailored guidelines for differing parts of this sector. This framework to reopen our higher education institutions is a vital component of our overall plan to reopen Connecticut,” the governor added.

The recommended sequencing of the reopening of colleges and universities would be as follows:

*Research programs and administrative functions will be able to open on the same timetable as the first wave of general business operations in the state, which is currently set for May 20.

*Next, early in the summer, workforce development programs in institutions such as community colleges may reopen. As part of their reactivation, they will welcome back those students who were unable to complete courses with lab, studio, clinical, or shop requirements for their degrees this spring.

*By mid-July, other nonresidential educational programs might be reopened if public health conditions continue to improve, and some institutions may want to resume graduate programs. A few summer programs involving undergraduate students in residential settings might be piloted.

*By the end of the summer in preparation for the fall semester, if prevailing health conditions make it possible, undergraduate residential institutions may reopen if they choose.

This sequencing is dependent upon several public health conditions that must be met. Some of these prerequisites include:

*The prevalence of the disease must be low enough to allow the safe resumption of campus operations;

*Institutions that will be housing students 24/7 must have access to enough COVID-19 tests so that entering students can be tested upon arrival, and those students testing positive must be immediately isolated; and

*An adequate capacity for contact tracing must be provided to the higher education institutions.

In order to reopen, each higher education institution would be required to file reopening plans with the Connecticut Department of Public health, detailing how they propose to:

*Repopulate the campus, likely in a phased way;

*Monitor health conditions to detect infection;

*Contain the spread of disease when detected; and

*Shut down the campus in the event it becomes necessary to continue educating students.

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Executive Orders, Bottle Redemption

On Tuesday, Lamont signed another executive order, the 36th since he enacted the emergency declarations. Executive Order No. 7II that enacts the following provisions:

Extension of school class cancellations for remainder of school year: Extends the cancellation of in-person classes at public schools statewide for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year. Schools will be required to continue providing distance learning during this period.

Authorization for the Department of Social Services commissioner to temporarily waive, modify, or suspend home health regulatory requirements: Makes it easier for Medicaid members to access home health services by allowing payment for these services to be ordered by advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, in addition to physicians.

Extension of the start date for imposition of a late fee for obtaining dog licenses from July 1, 2020 to August 1, 2020: Provides dog owners with a grace period through July 31, 2020 before a late fee is imposed for dog licenses, which are normally issued in June of each year.

Authority to waive certain requirements for the issuance of vouchers under the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children: To limit the need for in-person transactions, this order waives the signature requirement on the voucher registry for the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, and permits any adult to act as a designated proxy to pick up and redeem the vouchers on behalf of an eligible participant.

Following extensive discussion between the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and many stakeholders, retailers will resume bottling redemption activities on a limited basis beginning May 20, with a full resumption of operations by June 3.

Retailers are planning to resume bottle operations on a limited basis on May 20, with a full resumption of operations by June 3. Details of the phase in will be posted at retail locations and will likely include a daily limit on the number of containers, limited hours to facilitate cleaning, and appropriate social distancing requirements and the wearing of masks.

Beginning May 20, Connecticut retailers that fail to accept empty beverage containers for redemption under the law known as the “bottle bill” will once again be subject to enforcement actions by DEEP.

In recognition of the impact of COVID-19, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) has extended the application deadline for municipalities to submit their locally approved Neighborhood Assistance Act project proposals until July 31.

The State of Connecticut awards up to $5 million in tax credits to businesses that sponsor approved projects on behalf of a tax-exempt organization or municipal agency via the Neighborhood Assistance Act, which is administered annually by DRS.

In addition to the municipal deadline extension, DRS will accept municipal application documents electronically. A complete municipal application package, which includes evidence of a local legislative body’s public hearing and approval, and other required documentation, can be e-mailed to NAAProgram@ct.gov.

Businesses that make cash investments in qualified Neighborhood Assistance Act community programs can receive a 60 percent credit of their approved contribution, or 100 percent for certain energy conservation initiatives.

Anyone in crisis or facing issues making ends meet or experiencing stress or anxiety can also call the 211 infoline or consult its companion website 211ct.org.

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, at newtown-ct.gov.

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.